IIP' 


mmm 


a  i  E)  HA  FLY 

OF  THE 
U  N  I  VLRS  ITY 
or  ILLINOIS 


248 


Ow2  m 


MATERIALS  FOR  THOUGHT. 


MATERIALS  FOR  THOUGHT. 


DESIGNED  FOU 


YOUNG  MEN. 


BY  THE 

Rev.  GRIFFITH  OWEN. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

WILLIAM  S.  &  ALFRED  MARTIEN, 

606  Chestnut  Street. 
1859. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress  in  the  year  1858,  by 

WILLIAM  S.  &  ALFRED  MARTIEN, 

In  the  Office  of  the  Clerk  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Eastern 
District  of  Pennsylvania. 


:2  CONTENTS. 

Page. 

Obligations  of  Young  Men     9 

The  Vision  of  Years     17 

Thoughts  on  Winter   22 

The  Monitory  Voice  of  the  Season   36 

The  Departure  of  the  Old  Year   42 

The  Meditation  of  an  Interesting  Moment   47 

The  Old  and  the  New  Year   50 

-The  New  Year   59 

.1;  The  Voice  of  the  New  Year   76 

-J  The  New  Year ;  or,  Ketrospects  and  Prospects ....  89 

°  Keflections  on  the  New  Year   92 

"  Something  New  for  the  New  Year   101 

A  New-Year^s  Gift   105 

Daily  Thoughts  for  the  First  Month  of  the  Year  123 

Z  The  First  Sabbath  in  the  Year   136 

\  A  Heavenly  Use  of  Earthly  Things   148 

t:-  Beginning  the  New  Year  Well  152 


6  CONTENTS. 

Page. 

Looking  Forward   166 

The  One  Thing  Needful     174 

Spiritual  Arithmetic   179 

My  Meditation  of  Him  shall  be  Sweet   183  ' 

Son,  go  work  to-day  in  My  Vineyard   188 

Thou  Crownest  the  Year  with  Thy  Goodness  192 

What  is  Your  Life?   196 

How  long  have  I  to  Live?   202 

Improvement  of  Life  208 

Ebenezer   213 

The  Duty  of  Self-examination  221 

Anti-Revivalist  229 

What  have  I  done  for  Christ?   234 

The  Blessing  Wanted  by  the  Churches  237 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


This  volume  does  not  aim  at  originality;  it  is 
simply  a  compilation.  The  selections  are  made 
from  choice  and  rare  publications,  not  easily 
accessible  to  most  readers. 

Should  this  meet  with  favour,  it  will  be  suc- 
ceeded by  several  others  of  similar  size,  on 
practical  and  improving  subjects. 

The  object  of  the  compiler  is  to  aid  Young 
Men,  and  others,  in  becoming  labourers  in  the 
conversion  of  the  world. 

The  present  is  a  time  for  action — simple, 
direct,  energetic,  efficient  action.  Young  Men 
have  an  important  part  to  perform  in  the  benign 
and  glorious  enterprise  of  winning  souls  to 
Christ.  All  have  something  to  do  for  the  glory 
of  God,  and  the  good  of  man.  Let  each  one, 
then,  be  up  and  doing,  working  while  the  day 


8 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


lasteth,  seeing  the  night  of  death  will  soon  come, 
when  no  man  can  work. 

We  offer  this  as  a  New-year's  Gift,  with 
the  prayerful  hope  that  it  may  aid  our  Young 
Men,  and  others,  to  begin  the  year  well. 


MATERIALS  FOR  THOUGHT. 


OBLIGATIONS  OF  YOUNG  MEN. 

I   HAVE   WRITTEN   UNTO   YOU,   YoUNG   MeN,   BECAUSE   YE  ARE 

STRONG. — 1  John  ii.  14. 

The  sainted  John  when  he  penned  these  words 
was  standing  upon  the  very  verge  of  heaven; 
he  had  passed  through  the  five  stages  of  human 
existence — infancy,  childhood,  youth,  manhood 
and  old  age.  Time  had  now  silvered  his  locks, 
and  given  its  mellow  tints  to  a  character,  which 
even  in  his  earliest  manhood  had  secured  to 
him  the  title  of  the  beloved  disciple.  There  is 
through  the  whole  of  this  epistle  a  vein  of  ex- 
quisite simplicity  and  tenderness.  He  looked 
back  to  the  period  of  youth,  and  remembered 
how  critical  and  important  a  season  it  had  been 
to  him.  By  the  grace  of  God  his  seed-time  had 
been  rightly  employed,  and  he  was  now  reaping 
a  golden  harvest  of  sweet  serenity  of  soul,  and 
2 


10  OBLIGATIONS  OF  YOUNG  MEN. 


a  full  assurance  of  eternal  life.  He  had  leaned 
upon  the  Saviour's  bosom  at  the  Last  Supper,  he 
had  followed  him  the  most  closely  in  the  hour 
of  peril,  and  he  was  now  finding  in  rich  experi- 
ence that  such  was  the  best  preparation  a  young 
man  could  make  for  the  sober  realities  of  age, 
and  for  an  approaching  eternity.  Hence  his 
counsels  were  turned  to  young  men.  "  I  have 
written  unto  you,  young  men,  because  ye  are 
strong/'  His  reference  is  not  to  the  bodily, 
but  mental  vigour  of  youth.  Mental  strength 
is  a  merciful  gift  of  God,  which  may  be  wasted 
on  trifles,  or  perverted  to  evil,  or  used  for  great 
and  good  purposes.  It  is  the  power  which  God 
has  imparted  to  form  our  own  character,  and  to 
control  the  character  and  destinies  of  others. 
While  the  praise  and  gratitude  belong  to  God, 
for  the  bestowment  of  it,  yet  to  man  belongs 
the  privilege  and  responsibility  of  its  posses- 
sion and  right  improvement. 

"I  write  unto  you,  young  men,  because  ye 
are  strong."  Try  to  realize,  if  you  can,  the 
sacredness  and  solemnity  of  your  calling.  Your 
very  position  in  society  affords  you  favourable 
and  peculiar  facilities  for  helping  forward  the 
cause  of  Christ.  See  to  it  then,  that  you  dis- 
tinctly and  constantly  propose  to  yourselves  the 
glory  of  God,  and  the  good  of  souls,  as  the  great 


OBLIGATIONS  OF  YOUNa  MEN.  11 


achievements  for  which,  by  the  energy,  the 
freshness,  and  the  enthusiasm  of  your  age,  you 
are  eminently  and  peculiarly  fitted  to  promote. 

Your  duties  are  two-fold.  First,  to  your- 
selves, and  afterwards  to  others.  The  first  in 
order  is  your  own  salvation.  For  the  neglect 
of  this  there  can  be  no  excuse.  It  will  be  of 
no  avail  that  you  have  been  anxious  and  active 
for  the  good  of  others,  nothing  can  compen- 
sate you  for  your  loss,  nor  expiate  your  guilt. 
"With  all  your  gettings,  therefore,  get  under- 
standing, and  in  all  your  ways  acknowledge  God, 
and  he  shall  direct  your  paths."  First  of  all 
and  above  all,  seek  heart-religion,  cultivate  per- 
sonal piety,  grow  in  grace,  and  in  the  knowledge 
of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.  Be  not 
satisfied  with  past  or  present  experience.  Make 
some  new  attainments  and  discoveries  in  the 
divine  life  every  day.  "Follow  on  to  know  the 
Lord,  till  you  come  to  the  full  stature  of  perfect 
men  in  Christ.''  Pray  for  the  baptism  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  seek  to  have  your  souls  possessed 
with  the  grace  of  God,  and  your  hearts  filled 
with  the  love  of  Christ.  All  this  is  essential  for 
your  comfort  and  usefulness  in  promoting  the 
cause  of  Christ.  As  the  only  possible  way  for 
us  to  operate  upon  other  minds  is  by  sympathy, 
or  the  communication  of  feeling,  how  important 


12  OBLIGATIONS  OF  YOUNG  MEN. 


then  it  is  that  we  should  have  the  right  feelings 
to  communicate.  Religion  is  to  be  promoted  by 
religious  men.  The  measure  in  which  it  is  pos- 
sessed, is  the  measure  in  which  it  will  be  be- 
stowed. We  cannot  hope  to  raise  others  to  a 
higher  level,  except  as  we  first  occupy  it  our- 
selves. If  religion  in  us  is  feeble  and  deformed, 
we  shall  fail  to  propagate  it,  or  it  will  become 
that  poor,  spurious,  sickly  thing,  unworthy  of 
the  care  of  propagation. 

What  we  first  and  chiefly  need  then  is,  before 
we  look  to  others  to  look  to  ourselves.  The 
reason  why  so  many  do  almost  nothing,  why 
what  they  do  is  done  so  ill,  why  the  attention 
is  so  readily  diverted  to  secondary  and  sectarian 
considerations  from  the  great  things  of  our 
peace,  is,  that  they  require  to  possess  religion 
for  themselves  in  greater  vitality,  purity,  and 
vigour.  They  may  have  received  the  Holy 
Spirit  to  their  personal  salvation,  but  if  they 
are  to  make  that  salvation  known  in  power  to 
others,  they  require  to  be  more  fully  assured  by 
its  truths,  enriched  by  its  consolations,  and 
elevated  by  its  power  to  a  higher  region  of 
Christian  life.  The  primitive  disciples,  while 
their  Lord  was  yet  with  them,  had  faith  in  his 
name,  but  they  were  not  prepared  to  declare 
that  faith  with  intelligence  and  power,  for  the 


OBLIGATIONS  OF  YOUNG  MEN.  13 


salvation  of  the  world.     They  were  about  to 
receive  a  great  commission,  and  they  were  to 
tarry  at  Jerusalem  in  penitence,  prayerfulness, 
and  expectation,  till  they  should  receive  a  larger 
dispensation  of  the  Spirit  of  grace.    And  so  it 
is  with  us  now.    We  must  seek,  and  wait,  and 
pray  for  the  pouring  out  of  the  Spirit  from  on 
high.    Young  men  pray,  pray  for  the  baptism 
of  the  Holy  Ghost;  for  the  prayer  that  is  con- 
cerned about  the  Spirit  will  be  answered  by  the 
Spirit.    You  need  more  of  the  light  of  truth,  if 
you  are  to  enlighten  others.    You  need  more  of 
the  grace  of  life,  if  you  are  to  impart  life  to 
others.    You  need  a  supplemental  conversion, 
if  you  are  to  convert  sinners  to  God;  and  you 
need  a  richer  endowment  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
if  you  are  to  express  his  unction  and  energy 
to  the  world.    Let  these  be  the  living  con- 
victions of  your  mind.    Nourish  them  in  the 
immediate  presence  of  God.    Prostrate  yourself 
before  his  Majesty  in  penitence,  and  prayer, 
and  wait  in  breathing  expectation,  until  you 
shall  be  endued  with  the  Spirit  from  on  high. 
Open  your  whole  mind  and  heart  to  the  full 
accession  of  the  Spirit  of  grace,  and  you  shall 
be  filled  with  the  might  and  majesty  of  his 
presence.    He  shall  dwell  in  you,  walk  in  you, 
reign  in  you.    You  shall  be  inspired  with  all 
2* 


14  OBLIGATIONS  OF  YOUNG  MEN. 

wisdom,  strengthened  with  all  might,  fitted  for 
all  service.  You  need,  infinitely  need  the  Holy 
Spirit ;  you  need  nothing  besides.  Receive  the 
Holy  Spirit. 

Young  men,  ever  keep  in  view  that  the  high 
and  ruling  purpose  of  God  our  Saviour  is  to 
establish  his  kingdom  on  earth,  and  that  as  his 
true  disciples  this  should  be  also  your  chief 
purpose  in  life;  but  you  cannot  advance  reli- 
gion in  the  world,  except  as  it  is  advanced  in 
you.  What  a  motive  we  have  here  for  aiming 
at  preeminent  piety.  Apart  from  the  personal 
benefit  we  shall  derive,  it  is  the  only  effectual 
means  of  extending  the  Saviour's  empire  amongst 
men.  All  things  wait  for  this.  It  is  not  pro- 
perty, or  talent,  or  numbers,  that  we  want ;  it  is 
exactly  the  right  mind  and  the  devoted  heart. 
We  need  a  clearer  perception  of  truth,  a  deeper 
humiliation  before  God,  a  more  realizing  faith 
in  the  life  to  come,  and  a  more  thorough  and 
unreserved  consecration  of  ourselves  to  Christ. 
From  want  of  this  the  missionary  languishes  in 
the  field,  and  the  rich  man  hoards  up  his  money ; 
the  professing  Christian  lives  to  himself;  and 
the  Church  slumbers  at  her  post,  or  springs 
into  fitful  action  from  the  jealous  fear  of  being 
outdone.  The  enemy  is  strong,  and  we  are 
weak.    And  why  is  this?    It  is  the  part  of 


OBLIGATIONS  OF  YOUNG  MEN. 


15 


wisdom  to  inquire  as  to  the  secret  of  our  failure 
and  defeat.  That  there  is  somewhere  a  real 
cause  for  all  this,  is  beyond  a  doubt.  Where 
shall  we  look  for  it?  Not  in  God.  For  he 
waiteth  to  be  gracious.  He  cannot  deny  himself. 
His  hand  is  not  shortened  that  he  cannot  save, 
neither  his  ear  heavy,  that  he  cannot  hear. 
Where  is  it  then  ?  Not  even  in  the  world ; 
dark  and  wicked  as  it  may  be,  yet  the  secret 
of  our  failure  and  defeat  is  not  there.  Where 
then  shall  we  look  for  it  ?  In  the  Church  ?  Yes, 
in  the  Church  of  the  living  God,  which  he  has 
purchased  with  his  own  blood.  She  needs  a 
supplemental  conversion  before  she  can  become 
the  prepared  instrument  in  God's  hand  of  con- 
verting others.  She  needs  a  fresh  baptism  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  before  she  can  become  the 
ordained  minister  of  life  and  bliss  to  a  ruined 
world,  and  assume  her  destined  position  of  uni- 
versal empire  and  imperishable  glory. 

It  becomes,  then,  a  question  of  deepening 
interest — What  is  the  precise  thing  the  Church 
needs  ?  It  is  an  increase  of  personal  holiness, 
a  deeper  sense  of  dependence  on  God,  and  more 
fervent  piety  in  all  her  members.  All  must  be 
deeply  taught,  imbued,  and  penetrated  with  the 
saving  influence  of  the  Divine  Spirit,  and  thus 
realize  their  oneness  with  each  other,  by  their 


16  OBLIGATIONS  OF  YOUNG  MEN. 


living  connection  with  their  glorious  Head.  This 
would  at  once  secure  to  the  Church  all  that  she 
needs.  Prayer  would  take  a  deeper  tone,  con- 
tributions would  be  made  on  a  larger  scale,  the 
mind  would  receive  a  just  conception  of  the 
grandeur  of  our  object,  the  heart  would  be 
braced  by  one  magnanimous  purpose,  and  the 
band  of  the  redeemed  would  be  as  one  man,  has- 
tening to  bring  back  the  Saviour  and  the  King. 

As  all  of  individual  life  must  be  given,  so  all 
of  the  whole  Church  is  to  be  presented.  The 
act  of  consecration  is  to  be  as  extensive  as  the 
act  of  redemption.  None,  not  the  least,  is  to 
be  exempted  from  the  duty,  or  deprived  of  the 
privilege.  Youth  is  to  come  with  its  enthusi- 
asm, and  maturity  with  its  experience.  Babes 
and  sucklings  are  to  raise  their  hosannas  to  the 
Son  of  David,  and  the  hoary  head  is  to  find  its 
crown  of  glory  in  this  service.  The  poor  is  to 
present  his  mite,  and  the  rich  to  pour  forth 
their  treasures.  The  learned  must  yield  their 
talent,  and  the  young  men  their  energy.  On 
every  volume,  on  every  implement,  on  every 
ship,  on  every  habitation,  on  every  sanctuary, 
and  on  every  heart  of  the  redeemed,  must  be 
the  one  living  inscription,  "  Holiness  to  the 
Lord;''  and  the  whole  Church,  as  the  sacra- 
mental host  of  God's  elect,  must  arise  in  her 


THE  VISION  OF  YEARS. 


17 


might,  placing  her  feet  on  the  weapons  of 
earthly  warfare,  and  lifting  her  hands  to  hea- 
ven, send  forth  the  triumphant  shout — The 
world  for  Christ !  The  world  for  Christ ! 

Young  men,  see  to  it  that  you  do  your  part 
to  bring  about  this  happy  state  of  things.  And 
may  God  give  you  the  united  soul,  the  mighty 
heart,  and  the  perfect  faith  to  which  conflict  is 
easy,  and  victory  sure;  and  so  dispose  your 
mind  that  you  may  ascribe  all  the  glory  of  your 
redemption  to  God  and  the  Lamb  for  ever ! 

 ^  

THE  VISION  OF  YEARS. 

On  the  verge  of  the  late  year,  and  the  eve  of 
its  successor,  I  was  musing  on  the  lapse  of  time, 
and  the  rapidity  with  which  years  succeed  each 
other,  when  I  sunk  into  that  state  in  which  the 
exercise  of  the  senses  is  suspended,  the  imagi- 
nation takes  possession  of  the  mind,  and  leaves 
us  no  means  of  ascertaining  whether  the  scenes 
which  pass  before  us  are  those  of  fancy,  or  of 
vision.  Leaving  each  reader  to  determine  this 
as  he  may  think  most  probable,  I  proceed  to 
describe  the  scene  which  passed  before  me. 
From  the  total  vacuity  in  which  I  found  my- 


18 


THE  VISION  OF  YEARS. 


self  when  I  became  unconscious  of  the  objects 
of  sense,  I  quickly  saw  arise  a  sombre  figure, 
very  slenderly  attired,  but  in  a  manner  so  pecu- 
liar, that  I  supposed  she  had  dropped  some 
articles  of  ornament  or  dress  which  she  had 
formerly  worn.  She  seemed  eager  for  depar- 
ture, and  holding  her  face  half  averted,  left  me 
a  distinct  view  only  of  a  part  of  her  form ;  but 
as  her  appearance  excited  in  me  an  unconquer- 
able desire  to  become  acquainted  with  her,  I 
followed  with  eager  looks  and  hasty  steps, 
when,  still  keeping  her  face  toward  the  distant 
horizon,  and  moving  off,  she  thus  addressed  me: 
^'  Child  of  Adam,  I  perceive  thy  mind,  and  am 
unwilling  to  deny  thee  the  instruction  which  my 
history  affords.  I  am  the  daughter  of  a  hoary 
sire,  whose  name  is  Time,  and  as  my  father's 
children  are  numerous,  though  short-lived,  the 
sons  of  men  distinguish  us  by  various  names,  and 
very  frequently  they  just  designate  us  by  cer- 
tain numbers.  My  first  appearance  among 
mortals  was  in  a  very  different  form  and  attire. 
Hope  dressed  me  in  her  own  gay  colours;  and 
Prospect  covered  me  with  silks  of  various 
pleasing  figures.  I  danced  before  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  earth  to  the  cheerful  sounds  of  music, 
and  particularly  fascinated  the  young,  and  those 
who,  neglecting  to  learn  by  experience,  always 


THE  VISION  OF  YEARS.  19 

remain  children.  I  talked  to  them  of  pleasures 
to  be  enjoyed,  and  fortunes  amassed;  told  them 
that  each  generation  was  wiser  than  its  fathers, 
and  would  succeed  in  schemes  of  pleasure  and 
profit,  which  with  all  others  had  failed.  Thus 
many  were  induced  to  launch  into  expenses  by 
which  they  are  now  ruined;  not  a  few  drank  so 
deeply  of  the  cup  of  sensual  pleasures  that 
their  health  is  impaired ;  while  the  great  mass 
have  for  the  daughter  of  Time  neglected  the 
overwhelming  interest  of  Eternity. 

"But  advancing  in  age,  I  grew  more  grave, 
and,  as  I  sometimes  hope,  less  foolish.  I  found 
that  in  the  giddy  dance  of  frivolity  I  had 
dropped  some  of  the  ornaments  of  Prospect,  and 
in  a  fit  of  despondence  I  tore  off,  with  my  own 
hand,  many  of  the  fine  colours  with  which 
I  was  bedecked  by  Hope.  I  now  feel  some- 
what of  the  chill  of  age,  and  the  seriousness 
of  approaching  death.  Nothing  but  what  is 
solid  afi*ords  me  pleasure,  and  by  way  of  repa- 
ration for  the  delusions  I  created  in  my  early 
days,  I  leave  with  thee  this  faithful  admoni- 
tion :  Beware  of  my  successors  !  Like  me,  while 
young  they  will  flatter,  but  their  hopes  are  fal- 
lacious— their  disappointments  are  cruel.  Lis- 
ten to  the  voice  of  departing  Time,  for  this  is 
faithful  and  true.    Distrust  the  tales  of  ap- 


20 


THE  VISION  OF  YEARS. 


proaching  years,  they  are  but  soothing  lies. 
Above  all,  cease  to  give  thyself  wholly  to  the 
children  of  Time,  for  their  stay  is  short;  soon 
they  "will  leave  thee  to  dwell  alone  with 
Eternity.'' 

I  hung  upon  the  lips  of  this  instructress, 
drinking  in  with  eagerness  her  lessons  of  wis- 
dom, which  I  felt  as  medicine  to  my  soul. 
When  suddenly  I  perceived  that  she  had  re- 
moved from  me  unawares,  and  taking  a  last 
step,  she  seemed  to  descend  below  the  horizon, 
and  disappear.  But  on  turning  round  with 
mingled  rapture  and  regret,  I  saw  approaching 
from  the  opposite  quarter  of  the  heavens  another 
personage,  whom  I  conjectured  to  be  a  relation, 
so  great  was  their  resemblance.  Her  attire, 
however,  chiefly  attracted  my  notice,  for  it  was 
exactly  what  the  former  had  described  her's  to 
have  been  in  the  early  part  of  her  life.  Taught 
by  the  voice  which  first  vibrated  in  my  ears,  I 
inspected  this  new  appearance  with  the  keen  eye 
of  suspicion,  and  saw  beneath  the  gay  silks  that 
streamed  in  the  wind,  the  sombre  scanty  attire 
of  the  former.  She  accosted  me  with  many 
smiles,  wished  me  joy  of  a  visit  from  the  new 
year;  congratulated  me  on  the  happiness  it  pro- 
mised, and  seemed  disposed  to  become  my  confi- 
dant as  well  as  my  counsellor.     But  I  inter- 


THE  VISION  OF  YEARS. 


21 


rupted  her  abruptly;  told  her  that  I  had  heard 
the  departing  voice  of  her  predecessor,  and 
begged  her  to  lay  aside  her  false  colours,  for 
they  could  no  longer  deceive.  Apparently  sur- 
prised, but  not  altogether  displeased,  she  re- 
plied— "  Son  of  Experience,  thou  art  wise,  and 
since  thou  art  no  longer  to  be  deceived  with  the 
illusions  of  Hope,  I  will  lend  thee  the  hand  of 
Opportunity.  The  child  of  Time,  who  now 
greets  thee,  shall  aid  thee  to  meet  the  Father  of 
Eternity,  to  serve  thy  generation  according  to 
the  will  of  God,  and  by  years  of  religion  to 
secure  ages  of  bliss.'' 

The  surprise  and  pleasure  of  this  address 
roused  me  from  my  entranced  condition.  I  felt 
better  and  wiser  from  its  contemplation.  I 
started  up,  and  with  my  pencil  noted  down  all 
I  could  recollect  of  it,  with  the  prayerful  hope 
that  each  reader,  instructed  by  the  vision  of 
Time,  may,  by  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  find  it  a  reality,  and  so  live  and  labour 
here  on  earth,  that  when  they  descend  below 
the  horizon  of  time  and  disappear,  they  may 
pass  into  the  home  of  the  redeemed,  and  there 
to  dwell  for  ever  with  the  Lord. 


3 


22 


THOUGHTS  ON  WINTER. 


THOUGHTS  ON  WINTER. 

And  it  was  winter. — John  x.  22. 

In  the  Holy  Land  winter  extends  from  the 
beginning  of  December  to  the  end  of  January, 
and  is  often  remarkable,  especially  in  the  more 
mountainous  districts,  for  the  variableness  of  its 
temperature  and  the  intensity  of  its  cold.  Hence 
those  realizing  descriptions  of  winter  which 
abound  in  Scripture,  "  He  giveth  snow  like  wool : 
he  scattereth  the  hoar-frost  like  ashes.  He  cast- 
eth  forth  his  ice  like  morsels :  who  can  stand 
before  his  cold?"  As  in  all  the  other  seasons, 
so  in  winter  also,  we  see  the  wisdom  and  benefi- 
cence of  the  great  Creator. 

These,  as  they  change,  Almighty  Father,  these 
Are  but  the  varied  God.   The  rolling  year 
Is  full  of  Thee.'' 

The  life  of  spring,  the  glory  of  summer,  the 
bounty  of  autumn,  and  the  mellowing  frosts  of 
winter,  all  proclaim  the  infinite  goodness  of  that 
gracious  Parent,  who  has  said,  "while  the  earth 
rcmaineth,  seed-time  and  harvest,  and  cold  and 
heat,  and  summer  and  winter,  and  day  and 
night,  shall  not  cease.''  Gen.  viii.  22.    We  may 


THOUGHTS  ON  WINTER. 


23 


regard  winter  as  a  season,  as  an  emblem^  and  as 
an  incentive  to  benevolent  actions. 

I.  Contemplate  winter  as  a  season.  As  such 
it  presents  many  themes  of  profitable  medita- 
tions. And, 

1.  Winter  displays  the  power,  wisdom,  truth, 
and  goodness  of  God.  He  has  so  constructed 
our  planet,  as,  by  its  spherical  form  and  inclined 
position  to  the  great  central  luminary,  to  occa- 
sion all  the  varieties  of  heat  and  cold,  from  the 
fervid  glow  of  the  tropics  to  the  perpetual  ice 
and  snow  of  the  polar  regions.  Winter  displays 
God's  power;  its  stormy  winds,  its  raging  tem- 
pests, its  darkened  skies,  its  gloomy  and  cheer- 
less nights,  its  rattling  hail,  its  drifting  snows, 
its  ice-bound  waters,  its  pinching  colds,  are  but 
so  many  demonstrations  of  that  Omnipotence, 

"Which  reigns  tremendous  o'er  the  conquered  year." 

Nor  does  winter  less  display  God's  w^isdom  by 
the  succession  of  seasons;  each  one  brings  along 
with  it  its  own  peculiar  provisions  and  gratifica- 
tions. Inferior  creatures  by  instinct,  and  man 
by  reason,  are  taught  equally  by  the  great  Crea- 
tor and  Benefactor  to  provide  against  the  rigours 
and  hardships  of  the  wintry  months,  and  the 
beauty  and  loveliness  of  the  other  seasons  are 
enhanced  by  the  gloom  and  cold  w^hich  precede 


24 


THOUGHTS  ON  WINTER. 


them.  Winter  too  is  the  standing  memorial  of 
God's  faithfulness;  it  is  no  less  his  appointment 
than  the  green  verdure  of  spring,  the  sweet 
flowers  of  summer,  and  the  rich  fruitfulness  of 
autumn.  It  is  his  snow  that  covers  like  a  fleece 
of  wool;  it  is  his  ice  that  is  cast  forth  like  mor- 
sels ;  it  is  his  cold,  before  which  neither  man 
nor  beast  can  stand.  It  is  he  that  saith  to  the 
snow%  "Be  thou  on  the  earth;"  and  by  the 
breath  of  God  frost  is  given.  While  the  earth 
standeth  winter  shall  be  one  of  the  memorials  of 
God's  unbroken  covenant. 

Nor  is  winter  less  the  monument  of  God's 
goodness — it  is  the  night  of  the  year,  in  which 
the  weary  soil  takes  rest,  and  thereby  prepares 
itself  for  the  vegetative  toils  of  the  spring  and 
summer.  By  the  snow  the  earth  is  covered 
from  the  rigours  of  the  wintry  blast,  and  by  the 
frost  those  innumerable  insects  are  destroyed, 
which  would  eat  up  its  varied  productions.  By 
the  action  of  winter,  both  animal  and  vegetable 
life  are  invigorated  and  improved ;  while  for  all 
his  creatures  God  provides,  some  by  reason, 
some  by  instinct,  comforts  and  accommodations 
calculated  to  meet  the  exigencies  which  press 
upon  them.  Truly  we  may  say,  "Thou  crown- 
eth  the  year  with  thy  goodness."  But, 

2.  Winter  is  a  season  of  trial  and  privation 


THOUGHTS  ON  WINTER. 


25 


to  many.  In  polar  regions  it  puts  forth  a 
rigour  which  often  threatens  their  scanty  and 
sluggish  population  with  an  extinction  of  exist- 
ence, and  renders  it  next  to  impossible  to  search 
for  their  wonted  provisions  amidst  mountains  of 
snow  and  oceans  of  ice.  If  we  would  enhance 
our  own  comforts,  and  adore  the  goodness  of 
God  to  those  who  dwell  in  these  temperate 
climes,  let  us  often  think  of  the  poor,  skin-clad 
savage,  in  his  snow-built  hut,  amidst  continents 
of  ice,  shivering  on  the  very  confines  of  exist- 
ence. 

The  aged,  too,  with  whom  the  current  of  life 
runs  slow,  whose  limbs  are  tottering  and  feeble, 
and  who  are  but  little  able  to  exert  themselves 
to  keep  up  their  animal  warmth,  often  feel  most 
keenly  the  rigours  of  winter.  If  they  are  Chris- 
tians, and  know  the  blessings  of  communion 
with  God,  they  will  know  how  to  bear  the  tedi- 
ous languor  of  this  season;  and  if  nothing  but 
nature  comes  in  to  their  aid,  they  will  feel  that 
it  is  gloomy  and  cheerless.  To  many  such  it  is 
the  harbinger  of  the  stillness  and  coldness  of 
that  dreary  mansion  in  which  they  must  .lie  till 
they  hear  the  sound  of  the  last  trumpet.  How 
many,  especially  of  the  aged,  have  been  called 
into  eternity  since  the  commencement  of  the 
present  cold  season !  Happy,  thrice  happy, 
3* 


26 


THOUGHTS  ON  WINTER. 


thej  who  have  entered  into  the  joy  of  their 
Lord;  but,  0  how  sad  the  death  of  the  aged 
sinner! 

The  poor  in  particular  feel  the  pressures  of 
winter.  Many  of  them  are  shut  out  from  their 
ordinary  labours,  and  are  thereby  deprived  of 
their  usual  means  of  support.  Surrounded  by 
numerous  families,  and  destitute  of  proper  food, 
clothing,  and  fuel,  they  are  ready  to  exclaim, 
^'Who  can  stand  before  His  cold?'*  In  many 
parts  of  our  country,  and  more  especially  in  our 
crowded  cities,  there  are  tens  of  thousands  who 
rise  up  in  the  morning  without  knowing  where 
they  are  to  find  their  next  meal.  The  poor, 
indeed,  are  always  with  us;  but  the  severity  of 
winter  augments  their  number,  and  aggravates 
their  privations.  We  could  take  you  at  this 
moment  to  the  habitations  of  many  of  God's 
children,  pleading  his  promise,  and  living  on  his 
faithfulness,  who  are  straitened  beyond  expres- 
sion in  their  circumstances,  and  who  are  doomed 
to  feel  the  pinchings  of  a  scanty  diet,  a  scantier 
wardrobe,  and  a  cheerless  dwelling. 

Winter  is  the  season  of  social  intercourse. 
This  is  one  of  its  comforts  as  well  as  one  of  its 
temptations.  Social  intercourse,  when  properly 
regulated — that  is,  when  put  under  the  control 
of  religious  principle — is  a  great  solace  of  exist- 


THOUGHTS  ON  WINTER. 


27 


ence.  The  fellowship  of  kindred  minds,  more 
especially  where  true  godliness  is  the  bond  of 
union,  is  an  emblem  of  heaven  itself.  It  is  our 
duty  to  use  hospitality  without  grudging,  and 
always  to  endeavour  to  turn  it  to  the  best 
account.  It  is  the  height  of  selfishness,  and 
argues  but  little  for  the  social  temperament  of 
the  gospel,  where  Christians  are  content  to  live 
in  solitude,  and  are  never  drawn  towards  each 
other  by  the  force  of  principle  and  the  attrac- 
tion of  holy  love. 

I  am  not  pleading  for  worldly  parties  among 
Christians — we  have  too  many  of  them  already; 
but  for  those  intercourses  around  the  social 
board,  which,  when  conducted  in  the  spirit  of 
piety,  and  terminated  by  acts  of  devotion,  can- 
not fail  to  promote  a  spirit  of  love.  The  chil- 
dren of  this  world  are,  in  their  generation,  in 
this  respect,  wiser  than  the  children  of  light. 
They  know  how  to  call  in  the  aid  of  the  social 
principle  to  promote  vanity  and  folly;  and 
surely  Christians  should  not  lose  that  advantage 
to  their  profession,  which  arises  from  the  sanc- 
tified intercourse  of  social  life.  A  dozen  res- 
pectable individuals  in  a  Christian  congregation 
might,  at  a  comparatively  small  expenditure, 
organize  a  system  of  religious  conference  and 
social  devotion  through  the  w^hole  community. 


28 


THOUGHTS  ON  WINTER. 


As  winter  is  the  season  most  commonly  devoted 
to  social  and  friendly  intercourse  in  general, 
let  Christians  take  advantage  of  this  prevailing 
habit,  and  turn  it  to  some  happy  account  for 
eternity;  but  let  it  never  degenerate  into  a 
school  for  scandal,  or  into  a  source  of  increased 
worldly  conformity.  Let  the  social  meetings  of 
our  winter  evenings  have  a  sweet  savour  of  god- 
liness spread  over  them,  and  yet  let  them  be  so 
cheerful  and  happy,  that  the  younger  branches 
of  our  several  circles  may  feel  that  there  is 
nothing  gloomy  or  repulsive  in  the  spirit  and 
fellowship  of  Christians. 

It  is  earnestly  recommended  that  these  meet- 
ings should  commence  at  an  early  hour,  and  that 
the  members  of  each  family  should  be  in  their 
own  habitation  by  ten  o'clock,  that  no  infringe- 
ment of  the  domestic  order  or  domestic  devotion 
may  be  the  result  of  the  intercourse  proposed. 
If  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  or  some  gifted  pri- 
vate Christian,  can  be  associated  mth  these 
meetings,  to  give  a  tone  to  the  conversation,  to 
expound  in  an  engaging  manner  some  portion 
of  Scripture,  and  to  lead  the  devotions  of  the 
friendly  circle,  it  will  greatly  enhance  their 
interest  and  their  usefulness ;  but  where  this 
cannot  be  attained,  let  the  head  of  each  family 
be  the  priest  in  his  own  house.    It  is  very 


THOUGHTS  ON  WINTER. 


29 


desirable  that  this  thought  may  not  be  lost  sight 
of  by  any  who  have  it  in  their  power  to  exercise 
the  rights  of  Christian  hospitality.  It  will 
enlarge  the  sphere  of  their  own  benevolence,  by 
ministering  to  the  instruction  and  happiness  of 
others.  It  is  not  a  series  of  expensive  enter- 
tainments that  is  recommended,  but  rather  a 
succession  of  love-feasts,  such  as  obtained  among 
the  early  Christians,  and  which  drew  their 
hearts  one  towards  another,  and  aided  their 
triumph  over  the  selfishness  and  carnality  of 
the  world. 

II.  Contemplate  winter  as  an  emblem.  All 
nature  is  full  of  beautiful  and  instructive  analo- 
gies. Winter  presents  many  such  analogies. 
We  may  view  it  as  an  emblem  of  old  age  and 
death.  The  spring  of  promise  has  fled,  the 
summer  of  bright  suns  has  passed  away,  the 
autumn  of  withered  hopes  has  arrived,  and 
winter,  dreary  and  cold,  has  followed  in  its  turn, 
to  complete  the  round  of  man's  earthly  career. 

"^Tis  done!  dread  winter  spreads  his  latest  gloom, 
And  reigns  tremendous  o'er  the  conquered  year. 
How  dead  the  vegetable  kingdom  lies, 
How  dumb  the  tuneful !    Horror  wide  extends 
His  desolate  domain.   Behold,  fond  man. 
See  here  thy  pictured  life,  pass  some  few  years, 
Thy  flowering  spring,  thy  summer's  ardent  strength. 
Thy  sober  autumn  fading  into  age; 
And  pale  concluding  winter  comes  at  last, 
And  shuts  the  scene." 


30 


THOUGHTS  ON  WINTER. 


With  some  who  may  read  this  article,  the 
spring  of  youth  has  passed,  the  summer  of 
manhood  has  ended,  and  yellow  autumn  is  fast 
whitehing  into  the  snows  of  winter.  As  they 
look  around  them  on  that  death  which  now 
pervades  all  nature,  and  feel  its  chilling  and 
paralyzing  touch,  let  them  not  forget  that  the 
signs  of  their  approaching  winter  are  fast 
pressing  onward.  Those  gray  hairs,  that  decay 
of  animal  strength,  that  dimness  which  creeps 
over  their  vision,  that  sluggish  pulse,  that 
tottering  step,  that  fading  memory,  all  portend 
that  their  autumn  is  soon  to  close,  and  that 
the  winter  of  death  is  about  to  fix  them  in 
all  the  icy  coldness  and  insensibility  of  the 
grave. 

How  then,  fellow-pilgrim,  have  your  seasons 
of  life  been  spent?  Did  the  spring  time  of 
your  being  send  forth  the  sweet  blossoms  of 
early  piety?  Did  your  summer  of  life  see  them 
advancing  into  maturity  ?  Is  your  autumn  of  life 
laden  with  fruits  of  righteousness?  or  are  you 
compelled  by  a  faithful  retrospect  of  life  to  come 
to  a  far  different  conclusion?  0  forget  not  that 
your  autumn  hours  arc  fast  fading,  and  what  is 
done  for  eternity  must  be  done  quickly.  If  the 
winter  of  life  seals  up  your  faculties  ere  yet 
you  begin  to  live  to  God,  to  you  there  will  be 


THOUGHTS  ON  WINTER. 


31 


no  returning  spring.  Yours,  alas !  will  be  a 
resurrection  not  to  life,  but  to  shame  and  ever- 
lasting contempt. 

Christian,  your  winter  is  coming,  but  a  bright 
spring  shall  follow.  That  which  is  sown  in  dis- 
honour shall  be  raised  in  glory,  and  that  which 
is  sown  a  natural  body  shall  be  raised  a  spiritual 
body.  You  have  nothing  to  apprehend  from 
age  or  mortality.  The  graves  of  the  saints  are 
all  perfumed  by  their  dying  Lord;  and  he  who 
said  to  Lazarus  "Come  forth,''  will  speak  to  the 
earth,  and  to  the  seas,  and  cause  them  to  deliver 
up  as  faithful  stewards  all  who  sleep  in  him. 

We  must  not  omit  here  to  observe,  that  as  in 
the  natural  world  the  rigours  of  winter  may 
obtrude  themselves  at  times  upon  the  loveliest 
seasons,  and  nip  the  fairest  blossoms,  or  kill 
the  sweetest  flower,  so  in  the  life  of  man,  his 
winter  may  come  upon  him  at  any  season,  from 
the  opening  bud  of  existence  to  the  ripened 
maturity  of  old  age.  The  smiling  infant,  the 
playful  child,  the  ruddy  boy,  the  vigorous  youth, 
the  full-grown  man,  no  less  than  the  tottering 
pilgrim  of  fourscore  years,  may  be  called  to 
wither  beneath  the  chilling  blast  of  mortality. 
Watch,  0  watch,  then,  for  you  know  not  when 
your  Lord  cometh ! 

Winter  may  be  also  viewed  as  an  emblem  of 


82 


THOUGHTS  ON  WINTER. 


spiritual  death  or  languor.  0  what  an  appal- 
ling spectacle,  if  we  had  eyes  to  see  it,  is  the 
winter  of  the  soul !  No  spiritual  verdure,  not  a 
bud,  not  a  leaf,  not  a  blossom  to  be  seen — all 
cold,  and  motionless,  and  dead,  and  ghastly, 
and  forbidding.  The  death  of  nature  is  invol- 
untary, but  spiritual  death  is  the  wilful  sus- 
pension of  all  holy  functions,  and  a  depraved 
insensibility  to  every  exercise  and  engagement 
suited  to  our  immortal  and  accountable  nature. 
0  what  a  winter  spiritually  pervades  our  once 
happy  world!  Behold  the  trees  of  the  forest 
stript  of  their  leaves ;  see  all  nature  prostrate  in 
death,  and  in  this  cheerless  spectacle  contem- 
plate the  true  image  of  a  soul  stript  of  resem- 
blance to  God,  without  holy  principles  and 
affections,  a  stranger  to  the  meltings  of  peni- 
tence, the  sighs  of  contrition,  the  fervours  of 
devotion,  the  promptings  of  new  obedience.  0 
that  we  could  lead  these  victims  of  this  sad 
death  to  sigh  for  the  approach  of  moral  spring ! 
0  that  it  were  with  them  the  time  of  the  sing- 
ing of  birds!  0  that  we  could  see  the  ice- 
bound spirit  yielding  to  the  softening  breezes 
of  heaven!  0  that  we  could  discern  the  first 
tender  buddings  of  spiritual  life  springing  up  in 
their  wintry  atmosphere  !  Let  them  but  reflect 
on  the  nature  of  that  death  which  pervades 


THOUGHTS  ON  WINTER. 


83 


their  souls!  They  are  dead  to  spiritual  light 
and  vision.  There  is  a  fair  and  beauteous 
prospect  before  them,  but  they  have  no  eye  to 
discern  its  forms  of  grace  and  excellence.  They 
are  dead  to  all  spiritual  affections  of  love,  joy, 
peace,  and  holy  desire.  They  are  dead  to  all 
spiritual  exercise  of  prayer,  praise,  and  devout 
meditation.  They  are  dead  to  God  himself, 
the  chief  good,  and  have  said  within  themselves, 
*'We  desire  not  the  knowledge  of  his  ways.'* 
They  are  dead  to  all  well-grounded  hope;  the 
world  is  their  portion,  and  they  are  hastening 
to  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ  with  the  lie  of  a 
self-righteous  and  deceived  spirit.  0  that  over 
millions  of  such  ice-bound  spirits  the  God  of 
grace  would  breathe  the  balmy  and  refreshing 
air  of  a  moral  spring  !  And  are  there  not  some 
who,  after  having  passed  the  winter  of  an  unre- 
generate  state  and  entered  on  the  spring  and 
summer  of  the  new  and  heavenly  life,  have  suf- 
fered a  temporary  decay  of  their  spiritual  graces  ? 
It  is  surely  not  with  them  now  as  it  was  in 
months  past,  when  the  candle  of  the  Lord  shone 
round  about  them,  and  when  the  life  of  prayer 
and  communion  with  God  was  their  chief  de- 
light. They  have  lost  their  first  love.  The 
enemy  of  souls  has  been  sifting  them  as  wheat. 
They  have  fallen  from  their  steadfastness. 
4 


34 


THOUGHTS  ON  WINTER. 


Their  faith  is  weak,  and  is  ready  to  die.  There 
are  the  signs  of  approaching  winter  in  their 
souls.  "  0  backsliding  Israel,  return  unto  him 
from  whom  thou  hast  departed."  Cry  for  the 
quickening  energies  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Shake 
off  that  spiritual  lethargy  which  has  crept  over 
your  faculties.  Breathe  after  the  return  of  a 
moral  spring.  Look  out  for  the  early  and  latter 
rain.  Repent,  and  do  your  first  works.  Fall 
down  upon  your  knees  and  entreat  God  to 
restore  unto  you  the  joys  of  his  salvation,  and 
to  uphold  you  with  his  free  Spirit.  Then  may 
you  hope  to  be  richly  laden  with  those  fruits  of 
righteousness  which  are  by  Jesus  Christ,  which 
are  to  the  praise  and  glory  of  God. 

III.  Contemplate  winter  as  an  incentive  to 
benevolent  actions.  There  is  something  in  every 
season  to  teach  us  to  imitate  the  never-failing 
bounty  and  goodness  of  our  Father  in  heaven. 
Winter  has  its  peculiar  lessons,  especially  to  those 
on  whom  God  has  bestowed  more  of  this  world's 
goods  than  is  necessary  for  the  supply  of  their 
own  wants.  By  partially  withholding  from  many 
of  his  creatures  the  supplies  of  other  seasons, 
he  teaches  those  in  affluence  to  sympathize  with 
the  poor  and  necessitous;  thus  constituting  them 
ministers  of  mercy  to  certain  portions  of  their 
fellow-creatures.     While  our  cup  runneth  over 


THOUGHTS  ON  WINTER. 


35 


with  the  rich  abundance  of  God's  mercies,  surely 
we  cannot  but  think  with  tender  pity  of  multi- 
tudes for  whom  nothing  has  been  provided. 
Why  is  it  so,  that  we  have  plenty  and  they  are 
destitute  of  all  things,  but  that  the  bounty  of 
Heaven,  which  has  flown  so  liberally  into  one 
channel,  may  find  its  way,  by  our  own  voluntary 
agency,  into  another.  The  whole  amount  of 
supply  is  God's,  but  he  has  seen  fit  to  limit  it  to 
certain  channels,  that  one  class  of  his  crea- 
tures may  exercise  sympathy  and  generosity, 
and  another  gratitude  and  becoming  respect. 
Now  if  this  supply,  which  is  all  from  God,  is 
consumed  luxuriously,  or  hoarded  selfishly,  in- 
stead of  being  given  forth  like  the  bounty  of  the 
seasons,  then  will  the  gracious  Parent  of  all  call 
us  to  a  dreadful  reckoning  for  our  unfaithful 
stewardship. 

This  work  of  charity  to  the  poor  must  not  be 
left  to  ocasional  impulse,  or  mere  animal  sym- 
pathy; it  must  take  the  place  of  a  Christian 
grace,  and  be  provided  for  with  a  strict  fidelity, 
according  to  the  means  of  doing  good  which 
God  has  conferred  on  us.  As  the  Lord  hath 
prospered  every  man,  it  becomes  him  to  lay  by 
in  store  for  the  necessitous  poor,  that  he  may  do 
good  to  all,  but  more  especially  the  household  of 
faith. 


36         MONITORY  VOICE  OF  THE  SEASON. 

It  is  earnestly  hoped  that  in  this  age  of  active 
benevolence  it  will  not  be  forgotten  by  wealthy 
Christians,  that  "Blessed  is  he  that  considereth 
the  poor."  Let  them  seriously  and  prayerfully 
reflect,  what  pensioners  we  all  are  upon  the 
Divine  bounty,  and  let  it  be  seen  by  the  sympa- 
thy and  kindness  of  their  deportment,  that  they 
claim  relation  to  Him,  whose  blessed  distinction 
it  was,  that  he  went  about  doing  good. 

In  conclusion,  let  all,  whether  rich  or  poor, 
so  spend  their  days  on  earth,  that  when  the 
night  of  death  shall  come,  they  may  pass  into 
that  land  of  pure  delight,  where  their  summers 
will  last  all  the  year,  where  winters  and  storms 
shall  be  no  more,  but  December  as  pleasant  as 
May. 

» 

MONITORY  VOICE  OF  THE  SEASON. 

It  13  TIME  TO  SEEK  THE  LORD. — HoSCa  X.  12. 

For  ye  know  neither  the  day  nor  the  hour  when  the 
Son  op  Man  cometh. — Matt.  xxv.  13. 

In  the  good  providence  of  God  we  have  again 
been  permitted  to  witness  the  revolving  seasons. 
Their  gradual  and  solemn  succession  was  beauti- 
ful and  instructive.  They  silently  pushed  each 
other  along,  till  at  length  they  were  merged 


MONITOKY  VOICE  OF  THE  SEASON.  37 


and  entombed  in  that  common  rendezvous  and 
resting  place,  the  grave  of  the  year.  And  now, 
at  this  moment,  we  find  ourselves  placed  on  the 
boundaries  of  two  important  periods  of  time. 
The  year  just  closed,  like  its  predecessors,  has 
passed  into  eternity,  bearing  with  it  a  faithful 
report  of  our  sins,  and  mercies,  and  duties  to 
the  great  Author  of  our  being  and  Father  of  our 
spirits,  before  whose  tribunal  we  must  one  day 
stand,  not  as  idle  spectators,  as  we  have  stood 
in  earthly  courts  of  judicatory,  where  man  judges 
his  offending  fellow-man,  but  we  ourselves  must 
be  judged,  and  that  by  the  Judge  of  quick  and 
dead,  according  to  the  deeds  done  in  the  body, 
whether  they  be  good  or  bad;  for  He  hath  ap- 
pointed a  day  when  he  will  judge  the  world  in 
righteousness.  He  hath  said,  and  he  will  bring 
it  to  pass,  that  we  must  all  appear  before  the 
judgment-seat  of  Christ.  And  were  we  to  look 
at  things  around  us  in  a  true  light,  we  should 
regard  closing  Sabbaths,  and  departing  years, 
and  dying  mortals,  as  all  harmonizing  with  the 
sterner  voice  of  Scripture,  and  that  solemn  and 
seasonable,  and  merciful  admontion,  "Prepare 
to  meet  thy  God." 

With  the  departing  year  this  admonition  comes 
to  us  afresh.    To  some  it  comes,  who  through 
the  grace  of  God  are  prepared,  and  to  many 
4* 


38        MONITORY  VOICE  OF  THE  SEASON. 


who  are  not,  and,  moreover,  to  not  a  few  it  comes 
for  the  last  time.  0  solemn  thought!  Many 
in  hailing  the  new-born  year,  whether  in  the 
giddy  dance,  or  sacred  song,  whether  in  the 
house  of  mirth,  or  house  of  prayer,  are  hailing, 
though  unconsciously,  the  harbinger  of  their  dis- 
solution, and  shall  never,  never  hail  again  a 
new-born  year.  And  my  dear  reader,  very  pos- 
sibly you  and  I  may  be  of  the  devoted  number 
of  those  who  shall  die  this  year,  for, 

*'Like  crowded  forest  trees  we  stand, 
And  some  are  marked  to  fall." 

Then  let  it  be  our  fervent  prayer,  blessed 
Lord,  ''so  teaeh  us  to  number  our  days  that  we 
may  apply  our  hearts  unto  wisdom.'' 

The  warning  voice  of  the  season  comes  to 
those  who  are  ready.  Such  may  be  said  to  be 
in  waiting  for  the  coming  of  their  Lord,  whose 
welcome  voice  shall  ere  long  salute  their  willing 
ears  saying, Come  up  hither.''  Then,  having 
obeyed  the  glad  summons,  and  having  done  with 
earth,  and  time,  and  death,  and  sin,  they  shall 
enter  into  rest,  and  be  for  ever  with  the  Lord. 
Let  then  the  only  rightful  expectants  of  such 
bliss,  true  Christians,  regard  the  present  season 
as  a  fresh  memento  of  their  fast  concluding  pro- 
bation, and  their  approaching  departure  to  their 


MONITORY  VOICE  OF  THE  SEASON.  39 


heavenly  home.  Let  it  induce  deep  and  serious 
thought,  close  examination,  and  fervent  prayer. 
Let  it  lead  to  a  fuller  surrender  of  the  heart  to 
God,  than  which  nothing  is  more  wanting.  Let 
it,  we  say,  lead  to  a  fuller  surrender  of  the  heart 
to  God,  to  more  entire  devotedness,  to  weaned- 
ness  from  the  world,  to  greater  spirituality  of 
mind,  to  livelier  and  stronger  faith,  to  holiness ; 
in  a  word,  to  a  nearer  approximation  of  charac- 
ter to  the  blessed  Saviour's,  and  to  renewed  zeal 
and  effort  and  enterprise  in  advancing  his  cause 
and  kingdom.  Thus,  0  Christian,  may  the 
dawn  of  a  new  year  arouse  thee  to  press  onward 
in  thy  heavenly  course,  doing  the  work  and  will 
of  God,  till  in  his  righteous  providence  that  will 
be  accomplished,  thy  work  done,  and  thy  soul  at 
rest. 

The  warning  voice  of  the  season  comes  to 
those  who  are  not  ready.  Not  ready!  How 
discordant  and  infelicitous  the  expression,  but 
how  doubly  so  the  idea  or  import !  Not  ready ! 
What  unhappiness  does  such  a  position  involve 
in  worldly  things.  Apply  it  to  a  voyage,  a 
journey,  or  even  some  pecuniary  engagement. 
Suppose  the  passage  taken,  the  vessel  under 
weigh — and  the  passenger  ashore.  .  But  we  need 
not  follow  out  the  comparison  in  all  its  bearings 
to  see  the  folly  and  unhappiness  of  being  not 


40         MONITORY  VOICE  OF  THE  SEASON. 

ready.  And  if  it  be  thus  in  things  temporal, 
what  in  things  spiritual? — if  so  in  time,  what  in 
eternity  ?  Say  what  must  it  be  to  die,  and  not 
be  ready — to  be  summoned  to  the  tribunal  of 
God  unprepared.  Why,  it  is  to  be  lost — to 
perish — and  that  eternally !  for  then  grace  and 
mercy  will  be  clean  gone  for  ever;  and  a  great 
ransom  cannot  deliver  us.  How  good  then,  and 
gracious  of  Almighty  God  to  admonish  us  by 
his  word,  and  encourage  us  by  his  gospel,  as 
well  as  call  to  us  by  another  departed  and 
unimproved  year,  to  be  also  ready,  seeing  that 
we  know  not  how  soon  death  may  come !  Then, 
my  dear  reader,  lay  this  matter  to  heart,  I  be- 
seech you.  0  that  you  were  wise  to  know  this, 
and  consider  your  latter  end !  Be  thankful  that 
you  are  still  in  time,  that  you  are  favoured  with 
the  means  of  grace,  that  all  things  are  now 
ready,  and  that  the  blessed  Saviour  invites  you 
to  approach  him,  assuring  you  that  whosoever 
Cometh  unto  him  he  will  in  no  wise  cast  out. 
Then  this  year  be  persuaded  to  hearken  to  his 
gospel;  follow  the  instructions  of  his  word; 
bow  at  his  footstool;  cast  your  helpless,  guilty 
soul  upon  Christ;  and  cherish  in  your  mind  the 
fact  that  he  will  receive  and  save  you.  Thus 
have  we  set  before  you  life  and  death,  blessing 
and  cursing.    Choose  ye  then,  this  year — yea. 


MONITORY  VOICE  OF  THE  SEASON.  41 

this  day,  whom  ye  will  serve ;  as  for  me,  I  will 
serve  the  Lord. 

The  warning  voice  of  the  season  comes  to 
some  for  the  last  time.  Such  it  addresses  as 
did  the  midnight  cry  the  virgins — Behold,  the 
bridegroom  cometh;  go  ye  out  to  meet  him! 
0  might  we  all  hear  and  regard  it  in  this  sense, 
seeing  that  many  of  us  shall  hear  it  no  more  ! 
Then,  Christian,  seek  to  have  thy  lamp  trimmed 
and  burning.  Mount  the  watch-tower  of  faith, 
and  prayer,  and  holy  expectation,  for  soon — this 
very  year  it  may  be — the  Master  will  come, 
and  call  for  thee,  and  thou  shalt  enter  into  the 
joy  of  thy  Lord.  And  0,  nominal  Christian, 
unrenewed  person,  though  thou  mayest  have 
the  form  of  godliness,  and  bear  the  lamp  of  pro- 
fession— whose  heart  is  yet  unchanged,  whose 
sins  are  unpardoned,  and  who  of  necessity  must 
be  pronounced  a  foolish  virgin,  take  heed,  lest  in 
the  end — thy  fast  approaching  end — 0  take  heed 
lest,  dying  in  thy  present  state,  thou  be  classed, 
and  doomed,  and  condemned  with  such.  0  wilt 
thou  not  hearken  to  this  final  midnight  cry? 
Delay  not,  lest  when  thou  criest  for  mercy  in  a 
dying  hour,  the  door  be  shut,  and  the  Lord 
answer,  "Depart  from  me,  I  know  you  not." 
Finally,  0  sinner,  hear  the  voice  of  the  Saviour; 
repent,  and  be  converted;  watch  and  pray; 


42  DEPARTURE  OF  THE  OLD  YEAR. 

watch  and  hearken  while  the  cry  is  yet  in  thine 
ears,  for  thou  knowest  neither  the  day  nor  the 
hour  wherein  the  Son  of  Man  cometh.  The 
present  is  God's  time,  and  may  it  be  yours,  to 
seek  and  secure  the  salvation  of  your  soul.  It 
is  time  to  seek  the  Lord. 

 » 

DEPARTURE  OF  THE  OLD  TEAR. 

Last  night,  at  twelve  o'clock,  expired  a  friend, 
of  whom,  take  him  all  in  all,  perhaps  I  shall 
never  see  his  like  again.  As  I  stood  by  and 
saw  his  last  moments,  I  exclaimed,  ^'  How  our 
blessings  brighten  as  they  take  their  flight!" 
For  now  came  rushing  upon  my  memory  all  the 
good  qualities  of  the  deceased,  and  all  the  advan- 
tages I  derived  from  his  company.  Ah !  he  was 
indeed  a  fast  and  steady  friend  to  his  latest 
breath;  he  stood  by  me,  and  never  ceased  to  do 
me  good.  I  have  seen  many  changes  in  the 
affections  of  men;  they  have  been  mere  swal- 
lows, the  birds  of  summer;  but  summer  and 
winter,  by  night  and  by  day,  he  was  a  true  and 
fciithful  friend.  Every  time  I  retired  to  rest  at 
night  he  gave  me  a  parting  word  of  advice  in 
case  I  should  never  see  him  again;  and  each 


DEPARTURE  OF  THE  OLD  YEAR. 


43 


morning,  as  I  opened  my  eyes,  I  saw  him  by 
my  bedside,  inviting  me  to  accept  his  renewed 
aid  to  live  for  God.  How  many  pleasures  I 
have  enjoyed  in  his  company ! — to  count  them 
would  be  to  number  the  grains  of  sand  which 
bound  the  ocean ;  to  compass  the  detail  into  this 
article  would  be  to  take  up  the  waters  of  the 
sea  in  the  hollow  of  my  hands.  Two  things, 
however,  I  must  notice — the  first  is,  that  for 
three  hundred  and  sixty-five  days  he  introduced 
me  more  than  once  a  day  to  a  closet-audience 
with  the  King  of  kings;  and  although  I  must 
own  to  yoa,  that  in  His  Majesty's  presence  I  was 
so  delighted  that  I  forgot  the  departure  of  my 
friend,  he  never  upbraided  me  with  it,  but 
seemed  better  pleased  with  me  for  it  all  the  day. 
The  other  tribute  of  gratitude  which  I  must  pay 
to  the  memory  of  my  friend,  is  to  acknowledge 
that  two-and-fifty  times  in  his  life  he  proposed 
to  me  to  spend  the  day  in  pleasure;  to  imitate 
the  life  of  angels,  and  begin  heaven  without 
waiting  for  dismission  from  earth.    And  0, 

**How  pleased  and  blest  was  I, 

To  hear  the  joyful  cry, 
Come,  let  us  seek  our  God  to-day." 

To  how  many  profitable  discourses  have  I  lis- 
tened on  these  days,  and  almost  reproached  my 


44  DEPARTURE  OF  THE  OLD  YEAR. 

friend  for  bringing  them  to  a  close.  Shall  I 
ever  see  the  friend  with  whom  I  shall  enjoy 
again  such  happy  days  ?  But,  as  I  have  a  Friend 
dearer  to  me  even  than  the  late  deceased,  whose 
elegy  I  now  write  with  tears,  this  renders  him 
doubly  precious  to  my  plaintive  memory,  that  he 
was  ever  forward  to  give  me  opportunities  to 
serve  the  Lord  who  bought  me  with  his  blood. 
He  would  often  tell  me  this  was  all  he  came  for, 
and  was  never  better  pleased  than  when  I 
treated  him  as  if  he  were  good  for  nothing  but 
to  help  me  to  work  for  God.  Ah,  how  often  has 
he  roused  me  when  drowsy,  and  jogged  my 
elbows  when  lazy  in  this  cause !  Now  his  lips 
are  sealed  up  in  silence,  and  I  hang  over  his 
cold  corpse.  I  seem  to  hear  his  voice,  louder 
than  before,  when  he  used  to  cry,  "Awake, 
sluggard!  was  I  only  sent  to  see  thee  sleep?" 
Thus  roused  by  his  repeated  faithful  warnings, 
I  have  enjoyed  the  felicity  of  at  least  attempt- 
ing to  do  something  for  Him  who  has  done  and 
suffered  all  for  me.  And  this,  to  tell  the  truth, 
(without  fearing  a  frown  from  the  angry  shade 
of  my  departed  friend,)  is  the  most  pleasant 
reflection  on  the  review  of  our  past  friendship. 

"Millions  of  ages  hence,''  the  dear  deceased 
used  to  say,  "you  may  be  the  better  for  my 


BEPARTURE  OF  THE  OLD  YEAR.  45 


company,  and  according  as  you  treat  me  well  or 
ill,  your  very  heaven  may  taste  of  it." 

Who,  then,  of  all  those  who  shall  read  this 
obituary,  will  not  sympathize  with  me  in  the  loss 
of  such  a  friend,  or  refuse  to  indulge  me  in  the 
eulogium  which  we  love  to  pass  on  those  whom 
death  has  torn  from  our  fond  embrace — espe- 
cially as  I  could  hint  that  he  was  no  very  distant 
friend  of  theirs  neither.  0,  join  with  me  in 
blessing  Him  whose  years  know  no  end!  for  the 
Lord  gave,  if  the  Lord  hath  taken  away.  Yes, 
I  gratefully  adore  Him  that  said,  "  Spare  him 
yet  another  year!''  But  I  am  afraid  those  who 
have  hitherto  sympathized  with  me  in  my  irre- 
parable loss  will  now  startle  with  horror,  when  I 
disburden  my  oppressed  conscience,  and  confess 
to  you  that  I  have  been,  in  a  great  degree,  the 
murderer  of  the  deceased.  What!  murder  such 
a  friend  as  you  have  described?  What  a 
wretch !  I  confess  it  all,  and  admit  the  black- 
ness of  my  guilt;  for  I  am  too  much  my  own 
accuser  to  palliate  my  crime;  though,  if  I  were 
disposed,  I  could  silence  the  loudest  voice  by 
saying.  He  that  is  without  sin  among  you,  let 
him  cast  the  first  stone.  But  such  recrimination 
ill  suits  the  feelings  of  my  heart.  'Tis  true,  I 
never,  with  malice  prepense,  as  the  lawyers 
speak,  openly  said,  like  some,  Let  us  play  to  kill 
5 


46  DEPARTURE  OF  THE  OLD  YEAR. 


Time;  for  he  must  be  a  murderer  in  grain  who 
would,  in  cold  blood,  kill  so  good  a  friend  as 
Time.  But  then,  by  repeated  slights  and  inju- 
ries, we  may  murder  a  man  by  inches,  so  that 
he  may  at  last  die  of  a  broken  heart.  I  fear  I 
am  verily  guilty  of  the  blood  of  the  deceased. 
Ah,  how  often  he  reproached  me  for  my  treat- 
ment of  him,  and  told  me  I  should  repent  of  it 
when  it  was  too  late,  and  he  was  gone  for  ever ! 
Surely  he  possessed  a  prophetic  spirit,  for  I  feel 
the  truth  of  his  words  thrill  through  my  afflicted 
soul.  And  of  how  much  murdered  time  and 
abused  talent  may  one  year  accuse  us  before  the 
bar  of  God?  0  Thou  whose  blood  cleanseth 
from  all  sin,  blot  out  this  my  guilt,  and  let  this 
solemn  returning  period  of  time  be  at  least  im- 
proved to  renew  my  application  to  that  atone- 
ment which 

In  the  gospel  now  appears, 

Pardoning  the  guilt  of  numerous  years." 

And  since  I  may  never  have  another,  for  this 
year  I  may  die,  so  teach  me  to  number  my  days 
as  to  apply  my  heart  unto  wisdom. 


AN  INTERESTING  MOMENT.  47 


MEDITATION  OF  AN  INTERESTING 
MOMENT. 

The  moment  of  transition  from  the  old  to  the 
new  year  is  intensely  solemn  and  full  of  interest. 
What  shall  I  call  it — December  31st?  or  shall 
I  call  it  January  1st?  The  clock  strikes  twelve; 
the  bells  with  sudden  peal  ring  out  the  old  year, 
and  usher  in  the  new.  While  reviewing  the 
different  periods  of  my  life,  as  they  turn  upon 
their  own  hinges,  I  involuntarily  exclaim,  "  Thus 
passes  Time! — thus  Eternity  advances!"  I  feel 
myself  at  this  moment  as  on  the  isthmus,  where, 
standing  between  both,  I  contrast  eternity,  on 
which  I  am  entering,  with  time,  when  it  is  de- 
creed to  last  no  longer.  Time  then  appears  as 
a  glass,  which  has  poured  forth  its  rapid  stream, 
and  now  stops  exhausted.  Eternity  presents  an 
ocean  of  infinite  expanse  which  knows  no  shore 
nor  ebb. 

In  time,  I  see  the  abode  of  vanity  and  of 
change,  the  passing  creatures  of  a  moment. 
There  all  things  are  born  but  to  die;  appear, 
only  to  vanish.  Brass  corrodes,  marble  crum- 
bles, and  the  whole  scene  passes  as  the  pano- 
ramic figures  on  the  canvass;  but  eternity  I 


48 


THE  MEDITATION  OF 


confess  the  residence  of  durability,  the  dwelling- 
place  of  Him  who  is,  and  who  was,  and  who  is 
to  come,  the  great  I  AM.  Around  his  throne, 
or  crushed  beneath  his  feet,  are  myriads  of 
beings  who  know  no  change,  but  feel  their 
doom  for  ever  sealed.  Through  all  the  shifting 
scenes  of  time  I  contemplate  crowds  of  proba- 
tioners— some  wishing,  others  dreading,  and  all 
expecting  to  change  their  fortunes.  I  see  the 
stamp  and  colour  of  unknown  ages  depending  on 
the  moment  which  is  now  upon  the  wing.  In 
one  spot  I  observe  a  few  who  feel  the  awful 
ground  on  which  they  stand,  and,  anticipating 
the  infinite  consequences  of  this  truth,  bear  on 
their  countenances  a  serious  impression ;  but  on 
every  other  side  nothing  is  seen  but  a  drunk- 
en oblivion,  which  swallows  in  the  immediate 
draught  all  thoughts  of  the  impending  future. 

How  different  eternity !  There  nothing  hangs 
in  doubtful  suspense — each  knows  his  doom. 
Religion  no  longer  trembles  with  anxious  fears, 
nor  guilt  tastes  any  more  delusive  hopes.  All 
are  occupied  in  gathering  what  they  have  sowed. 
In  heaven  they  recall  their  former  faith  and 
hope,  joys  and  sorrows,  prayers  and  hymns,  and 
now  taste  the  sweet  fruits  o£  grace  exercised  in 
long  past  ages.  In  hell  they  feel  again  stings 
which  they  thought  blunted,  and  are  haunted 


AN  INTERESTING  MOMENT.  49 

with  recollections  for  which  they  hoped  to  have 
found  Lethean  draughts.  Time,  though  such 
an  evanescent  drop,  has  dashed  with  gall  of 
bitterness  the  cup  which  eternity  shall  not 
exhaust. 

Time,  as  it  flies,  seems  to  recall  the  pleasure 
it  brings,  and  says  to  the  righteous,  Ye  must 
only  taste  of  the  brook  by  the  way — I  am  bear- 
ing you  on  my  wings  to  that  fountain  whence 
you  may  drink  immortal  draughts  of  never- 
failing  bliss.  With  equal  force  it  says  to  the 
holy  sufferer.  Each  pang  diminishes  the  tale  ; 
and  every  throb  becomes  more  tolerable,  as  it 
announces  the  approach  of  exemption  and  ease. 
It  is  eternity  which  makes  pleasure  pleasure 
indeed,  for  no  bitter  expectation  of  reverse 
harasses  the  mind;  but  the  thought  that  an 
unalterable  futurity  of  bliss  is  all  my  own,  gives 
the  exquisite  taste  of  eternity  to  every  sensation 
of  delight.  But  in  the  stagnant  lake  of  endless 
wo,  an  unknown  aggravation  is  thrown  into  each 
pang,  from  the  consideration — This  must  last 
for  ever — an  eternal  toothache  only  would  be  a 
hell. 

Will  time  thus  deeply  affect  eternity,  and 
should  not  eternity  influence  time?   It  is  this 
which  gives  importance  to  my  character,  and 
imparts  intensity  to  all  my  actions.    I  must  live 
5* 


60  THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW  YEAR, 

for  ever  in  heaven  or  in  hell ;  and  as  I  live,  so  I 
must  die;  and  as  I  die,  so  I  must  appear  in 
judgment;  and  as  I  appear  there,  so  I  must 
continue  throughout  all  eternity.  Let  me  now, 
in  the  accepted  time,  believe  in  Him  who  will 
freely  bestow  on  me  eternal  life.  Let  me  begin 
this  year  with  the  resolution  of  President  Ed- 
wards, so  worthy  of  his  exalted  and  pious  mind: 
"Resolved,  that  I  will  do  whatsoever  I  think  to 
be  most  to  God's  glory  and  my  own  good  profit 
and  pleasure,  without  any  consideration  of  the 
time — whether  now,  or  ever  so  many  millions  of 
ages  to  come.'' 

♦  

THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW  YEAR. 

Another  year  is  gone !  another  year  is  come ! 
It  is  nearly  impossible  to  utter  these  exclama- 
tions with  indifference.  The  divisions  of  our 
time  are  meant  to  have  a  moral  as  well  as  a 
secular  use.  While  they  regulate  our  worldly 
occupations,  they  are  designed  to  convey  us  a 
still  richer  benefit  by  fostering  reflections  and 
inducing  us  to  anticipate  futurity.  Standing  on 
the  boundaries  of  two  great  periods  of  time,  man 
seems  placed  in  circumstances  only  less  affect- 


THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW  YEAR.  51 

ing  than  that  of  the  angel  in  the  Apocalypse, 
who,  with  either  foot  on  the  divided  elements  of 
land  and  water,  lifted  up  his  hand  to  heaven, 
and  sware  by  Him  that  liveth  for  ever  that 
time  should  be  no  longer. 

Another  year  is  gone  !  How  swift,  how  impre- 
ceptible  is  the  flight  of  time?  Moralists  have 
compared  its  course  to  that  of  a  stream,  a 
shuttle,  or  an  arrow ;  but  they  are  not  an  ade- 
quate  illustration.  I  can  sit  down  by  the  glid- 
ing waters  and  mark  their  passage  to  the  ocean. 
I  can  detect  the  movement  of  the  shuttle  as  it 
flies  from  hand  to  hand  in  the  loom;  and  I  can 
track  the  fleetest  arrow  as  it  cleaves  its  way 
through  the  pathless  heaven.  Time  in  its  flight 
I  cannot  see,  I  cannot  detect.  I  watch  for  its 
coming,  I  would  mark  its  departure,  but  it  is 
too  noiseless  and  subtile  in  its  course  for  me  to 
realize  the  one  or  the  other.  I  can  neither  say 
it  is  here,  nor  it  is  gone;  for  time  moves  so 
much  quicker  than  my  words,  as  to  falsify  my 
declarations:  and  the  traveller  on  his  way,  with 
the  sun  over  his  head  and  its  shadows  at  his 
feet,  if  he  would  verify  the  lapse  of  time,  must 
still  ask  of  his  companion  the  hour  of  the  day. 
It  is  this  that  spreads  around  us  so  much 
illusion.  Time  is  always  forsaking  us,  yet  seems 
always  the  same ;  to-morrow  is  so  like  to-day, 


0.  OF  ILL  UK 


62 


THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW  YEAR. 


that  we  are  willingly  beguiled  into  a  belief  of 
its  identity.  Hence  are  we  perpetually  running 
into  erroneous  calculations.  We  have  grey 
hairs  on  our  forehead,  and  we  know  it  not. 
Our  hopes  are  green  and  florid  when  our  root  is 
withered  and  corrupting.  We  cannot  believe 
that  we  have  numbered  so  many  years  as  have 
gone  over  us,  and  are  repeatedly  inquiring, 
Can  they  be  so  many  ?  Can  we  be  so  old  ? 
Childhood  is  surprised  into  youth;  youth  is  sur- 
prised into  manhood;  manhood  is  surprised  into 
age ;  and  age,  full  of  the  dreams  of  life,  is  sur- 
prised into  the  grave.  So  it  was  with  our 
fathers — so  it  is  with  us:  and  those  who  have 
died  early  have  been  so  few  as  only  to  form  an 
exception  to  the  rule,  and  they  have  been  made 
an  exception  only  by  the  wisdom  which  cometh 
down  from  above. 

Another  year  is  gone !  Titus  once  exclaimed, 
"I  have  lost  a  day!''  How  many  listening  to 
the  monitions  of  conscience  have  reason  to  say, 
I  have  lost  a  year !  To  what  purpose  have  they 
lived?  Whom  have  they  blessed  by  their  ex- 
istence? What  good  have  they  done?  What 
evil  have  they  shunned?  What  homage  have 
they  paid  to  the  great  Creator?  What  trust 
have  they  reposed  in  the  only  Redeemer  ?  What 
regard  have  they  shown  to  that  celestial  voice 


THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW  YEAR.  53 

which  is  calling  them  away  from  sense,  and 
vanity,  and  sin,  to  glory,  honour,  and  immor- 
tality? What  unhappiness  and  guilt  must  be 
mingled  with  their  reflections !  They  have 
lost  a  year!  What  pleasures  they  must  have 
missed,  what  privileges  they  have  neglected,  what 
mercies  they  have  abused,  what  sin  they  have 
accumulated!  Many  during  that  period  have 
lost  their  health,  their  property,  and  dearest 
and  nearest  friends^  but  they  are  not  so  wretch- 
ed as  the  man  who  feels  that  he  has  lost  the 
year.  Other  losses  may  be  retrieved — this  can- 
not. In  it  there  is  henceforth  no  place  left  for 
repentance,  no  space  to  act  again  what  has 
been  performed  so  much  amiss.  What  has  been 
done  is  done;  what  has  been  omitted  is  omitted. 
Its  report  is  complete,  its  record  is  sealed.  It 
is  gone,  and  as  it  left  us,  how  it  frowned  like  a 
spectre  on  the  guilty,  and  said,  ^'I  meet  you 
again  in  judgment." 

There  are  some  as  guilty  of  this  abuse  of  past 
time  who  are  not  yet  so  uneasy.  They  have  de- 
termined to  banish  reflection  and  not  to  distress 
themselves  by  inquiry.  They  refuse  to  muse  on 
the  past,  or  to  forebode  the  future.  The  pre- 
sent time  is  their  eternity.  Jest  dwells  on  their 
tongue,  levity  flutters  in  their  eye,  and  laughter 
plays  on  their  cheek.    They  are  awake  only  to 


54:  THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW  YEAR. 

animal  indulgences,  and  they  are  resolved  on 
their  fullest  gratification.  To  what  shall  they 
be  likened? 

I  read  of  a  youthful  party,  not  long  since, 
who  went  on  an  excursion  upon  the  beautiful 

and  romantic  river  C  .    The  heavens  were 

fair  and  bright  above  them,  and  the  waters 
shone  like  a  brilliant  and  expanded  mirror 
around  them.  Merriment,  frolic,  and  song  were 
theirs;  the  eye,  the  ear,  the  heart  were  intoxi- 
cated with  worldly  joy.  In  the  fulness  of  their 
pleasure  they  had  forgotten  to  guide  their  vessel 
into  a  course  of  safety,  and  in  an  instant  they 
found  themselves  borne  away  by  an  irresistible 
current  towards  a  tremendous  fall.  They  saw 
their  danger,  felt  it  inevitable.  Now  they 
shrieked  in  agony.  Now  they  pressed  their 
hands  on  their  eyes,  and  sightless  and  speech- 
less awaited  the  event.  They  fell,  they  rose  no 
more!  Such  is  the  state  of  those  who,  borne 
down  the  stream  of  time  towards  an  awful 
eternity,  amuse  themselves  with  present  plea- 
sure, and  refuse  to  inquire  about  their  destiny 
and  the  means  of  their  salvation  till  salvation 
is  impossible ;  only  they  are  carried  away  by  a 
more  impetuous  torrent,  shoot  into  a  deeper 
gulf,  and  are  precipitated  to  a  death  more  last- 
ing, more  awful,  and  more  profound. 


THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW  YEAR. 


55 


Another  year  is  come !  Shall  we  trifle  any 
longer  ?  Shall  this  year,  invaluable  as  it  is,  be 
in  our  hands  as  a  price  in  the  hands  of  a  fool? 
Shall  it  be  consumed  by  ennui,  squandered  on 
selfish  indulgences,  or  exchanged  for  lying  vani- 
ties ?  We  seek  to  be  happy,  but  we  are  often 
decoyed  from  the  path  to  happiness  by  the 
blandishments  of  pleasure.  To  be  happy  we 
must  be  serious.  To  be  happy  we  must  respect 
our  whole  existence;  we  must  regard  to-morrow 
as  well  as  to-day,  eternity  as  well  as  time.  We 
must  live  not  to  ourselves,  but  to  others ;  nor 
merely  to  others,  but  to  God.  The  mind  must 
have  great  and  appropriate  objects  before  it, 
and  the  heart  must  be  enlarged  by  great  and 
benevolent  sentiments.  The  passing  year,  evan- 
escent as  it  seems,  would  then  be  linked  to  eter- 
nity, and  would  live  for  ever.  Life  would  lose 
the  tedium  which  arises  from  its  being  directed 
to  no  object,  or  the  disgust  which  springs  from 
embracing  only  those  objects  which  are  frivol- 
ous. The  soul  would  be  elevated  to  a  conscious 
alliance  with  heavenly  things;  the  occupations 
of  earth  would  derive  interest  and  importance 
from  their  connection  with  the  will  of  God  and 
an  advancing  immortality ;  and  all  the  ardour 
and  the  energy  of  which  we  find  ourselves  the 
subjects,  woi/ld  find  an  ample  field  for  their 


56  THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW  YEAR. 

ceaseless  exercise  in  the  pursuit  and  possession 
of  an  inheritance  whose  boundaries  we  may 
ever  explore,  but  can  never  define,  whose 
treasures  we  may  ever  enjoy,  but  can  never 
exhaust. 

Another  year  is  come !  0 !  is  not  this  a  time 
to  turn  to  the  Lord?  Spared  when  we  deserved 
it  not — entrusted  with  another  portion  of  time, 
though  we  have  so  little  understood  its  value — 
shall  we  not  esteem  it  at  once  a  treasure  and  a 
trust?  And  shall  we  not  expend  it  to  the 
honour  of  Him  who  rather  lends  it  to  us  than 
gives  it?  Shall  we  not  consider  our  ways  and 
acknowledge  our  trespasses,  with  penitence 
towards  God  and  faith  in  the  Redeemer?  Shall 
we  not  inquire  what,  in  ourselves,  in  our  connec- 
tions, in  the  Church,  and  in  the  world,  we  can 
do  to  mitigate  the  wrongs  we  have  done,  and  to 
express  our  gratitude  for  the  mercy  we  have 
received?  Shall  we  not  at  length  be  taught  to 
seek  our  happiness  in  the  joy  of  others,  our 
honour  in  the  service  of  the  Saviour,  and  our 
life  in  the  world  to  come?  Is  it  too  soon  to  be 
wise,  too  soon  to  be  happy,  too  soon  to  awake 
from  a  base  and  dormant  existence  into  the  life 
of  angels  and  of  God?  One  year  has  left  us 
and  recorded  its  testimony  in  the  skies.  An- 
other year  is  given  to  us,  in  pity  to  our  follies 


«     THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW  YEAR.  57 

and  our  crimes.  0!  is  not  this  a  time  for  hum- 
ble prayer,  holy  resolutions,  and  heavenly  aspi- 
rations? Can  any  period  be  so  suitably  the 
birthday  of  the  soul — our  spiritual  jubilee — the 
year  of  a  blessed  and  everlasting  redemption? 

Another  year  is  come !  and  this  may  be  our 
last!  This  is  probable  to  us,  and  it  is  certain 
to  many — to  an  almost  incredible  number.  It 
is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  twenty  millions 
of  mankind  will  die  before  the  expiration  of  this 
year.  And  if  so  vast  a  number  will  certainly 
be  removed  into  eternity,  what  presumption, 
•what  madness  would  it  be,  to  determine  that  it 
does  not  include  us?  Yes,  this  year  we  may 
die!  What  do  we  say?  Man  is  but  the  crea- 
ture of  a  day,  and  shall  he  presume  even  on  a 
year?  Many,  many  shall  die  w^hile  the  year 
is  yet  young,  and  few  of  its  days  are  num- 
bered. Now,  while  you  are  reading,  thinking, 
perhaps  hesitating,  your  fellow-beings  are  groan- 
ing, expiring,  and  passing  to  an  awful  and  final 
judgment.  0,  how  we  stand  on  the  very  con- 
fines of  eternity !  How  thin  the  veil  which 
separates  our  vision  from  the  glories  above  us — 
the  horrors  beneath  us !  A  moment,  and  vfQ 
may  ascend  to  heaven,  or  sink  to  hell ! 

Another  year  is  come  !    Let  the  Christian 
meet  it  with  hope.    Hope  will  foster  prayer, 
6 


58  THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW  YEAR.  ^ 

Stimulate  to  activity,  and  exalt  the  mind  from 
the  seen  to  the  unseen — carry  it  out  from  the 
present  to  the  future,  and  to  the  Christian  all 
things  are  full  of  hope.  The  opening  year  may 
bring  affliction,  but  it  will  also  bring  support;  it 
may  bring  wants,  but  it  shall  bring  supplies ;  it 
may  bring  duties,  but  it  will  bring  strength  and 
grace  to  perform  them.  He  may  be  cast  down 
— he  cannot  be  destroyed;  he  may  be  perse- 
cuted— he  cannot  be  forsaken;  he  may  be  sor- 
rowful— he  shall  rejoice  for  evermore.  Nothing 
can  alarm  him,  nothing  disappoint  him,  nothing 
impoverish  him.  Consume  the  earth  by  un- 
quenchable fire,  he  loses  nothing,  suffers  nothing. 
If  he  live,  he  lives  to  the  Lord,  and  that  is  the 
height  of  happiness  on  earth;  if  he  die,  he  is 
present  with  the  Lord,  and  that  is  the  consum- 
mation of  bliss  in  heaven.  Happy  Christian! 
to  remain  here  is  hope;  to  depart  for  ever  is 
more  abundant  hope.  The  years  of  thy  life  are 
all  blessed;  the  year  of  thy  death  supremely 
blessed.  When  thou  shalt  cease  to  exist  thou 
shalt  begin  to  live,  and  live  for  ever.  The 
period  of  thy  dissolution  is  the  date  of  thy  im- 
mortality— the  day  of  thy  emancipation,  thy 
nuptials,  thy  coronation.  It  shall  soon  come, 
and  till  it  come,  thou  art  in  a  gracious  state  of 
preparation  for  its  arrival.    Already  the  lights 


THE  NEW  YEAR. 


59 


of  heaven  and  eternity  are  irradiating  thy  path. 
A  little  while,  and  care,  crime,  death,  all  that 
is  earthly  and  perishable,  shall  be  to  you  as 
though  they  had  never  been.  A  little  while, 
and  thou  shalt  awake  to  glory  such  as  no  eye 
hath  seen ;  to  converse  such  as  ear  hath  not 
heard;  to  joys  such  as  no  heart  hath  conceived; 
to  a  blessing  as  lasting  as  it  is  full,  and  as  fresh 
as  it  is  abiding. 

*'Yes,  the  bright  day  shall  soon  arise, 
That  bids  us  welcome  to  the  skies. 
No  more  by  earthly  ties  confined, 
Hope  her  sought  liberty  shall  find ; 
Spread  her  glad  wings  and  take  her  flight 
To  worlds  of  everlasting  light." 


THE  NEW  YEAR. 

What  is  a  year? — a  portion  of  time.  And  what 
is  time?  It  is  not  a  mere  abstraction,  but  is 
marked  by  striking  and  visible  characteristics. 
It  had  its  beginning,  and  will  have  its  termina- 
tion; and  in  its  progress  it  has  its  minutes  and 
more  extensive  revolutions — its  hours,  its  days, 
its  months,  its  years,  its  epochs,  its  eras,  its 
centuries.  It  has  also  its  histories  written  in 
the  annals  of  heaven  and  in  the  records  of  earth. 


60 


THE  NEW  YEAR. 


It  is  known  fully  and  completely  to  God  alone; 
partially  and  obscurely  to  man.  It  has  been 
called  a  parenthesis  in  eternity — 

A  moment  fixed  for  ever  there." 

It  is  a  continued  and  unbroken  series  of 
causes  and  effects  from  a  commencement  on- 
ward to  a  close.  Time  was  appointed  by  the 
eternal  Creator  and  Governor  of  the  universe 
to  be  subservient  to  the  development  and  mani- 
festation of  a  stupendous  and  glorious  plan 
of  moral  government.  Time  was  to  include  the 
periods,  and  earth  was  selected  to  be  the  scene 
of  the  successive  exhibitions  of  the  parts  of  this 
great  drama,  which  was  to  begin  and  is  to  close 
with  the  collective  history  of  time  and  all  terres- 
trial things.  In  this  great  development  man 
was  chosen  as  the  moral  and  accountable  agent, 
the  instrument  of  the  divine  Creator's  will.  The 
earth  was  prepared  as  the  theatre  of  moral 
action,  and  the  sphere  of  providential  operation, 
for  the  purpose  of  drawing  from  the  fall  the 
guilt,  the  misery  of  man — a  mystery  of  wisdom, 
of  grace,  and  of  glory,  the  unfolding  of  >vhich 
should  excite  admiration,  and  form  matter  of 
praise  among  superior  intelligences,  and  the 
redeemed  and  immortal  sons  and  daughters  of 
Adam  through  a  coming  eternity.  Subordinate 
to  this,  and  in  perfect  harmony  with  it,  God  has 
ordained  a  certain  economy  of  life,  which  be- 


THE  NEW  YEAR.  61 

longs  exclusively  to  earth  and  time,  so  that 
while  the  heir  of  eternity  is  working  out  his 
individual  destination,  he  is  likewise  working  out 
the  good  of  society  and  the  well-being  of  the 
species,  as  the  creatures  of  earth  and  time. 

Man  is  brought  under  the  empire  of  time  to 
be  prepared  for  eternity,  and  therefore  through 
the  medium  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  the  evan- 
gelical ministry,  and  the  appliances  of  the  sanc- 
tuary and  the  Sabbath,  he  is  to  pursue  this  as 
the  first  and  the  last  end  of  his  existence  in 
time.  Here  he  is  to  learn  to  know,  love,  and 
obey  God  as  his  Father,  his  Redeemer,  and  his 
Sanctifier;  and  therefore  he  must  read,  he  must 
study,  he  must  prayerfully  study  the  sacred  ora- 
cles, and  attend  to  the  solemn  observance  of 
every  institution  that  is  designed  to  explain  and 
enforce  them.  He  must  learn  now  in  time  that 
he  is  fallen,  that  he  is  restored ;  and  his  mental 
and  moral  faculties  must  be  raised  to  God  by 
all  the  instrumentalities  which  time  can  supply. 
He  is  placed  in  the  most  favourable  position,  in 
which  he  may  contemplate  the  most  glorious 
scenes,  and  attain  the  most  glorious  objects. 
Here  breaks  upon  him  the  idea  of  God,  which 
transforms  into  its  own  likeness  the  mind  that 
receives  it,  which  grows  in  effulgence  by  having 
transferred  upon  it  new  perceptions  of  beauty 
6* 


62 


THE  NEW  YEAR. 


and  holiness,  attracting  to  itself  as  a  centre 
whatever  bears  the  impress  of  dignity  or  of 
goodness;  which  borrows  splendour  from  all 
that  is  fair,  subordinates  to  itself  all  that  is 
great,  and  sits  enthroned  on  the  riches  of  the 
universe.  Here  the  sinner  and  the  rebel  is 
reminded  how  an  adequate  foundation  has  been 
laid  for  the  supernatural  duties  of  faith  and 
repentance.  The  objects  of  the  one  are  exhibit- 
ed, motives  to  the  other  are  supplied;  while 
repentance  towards  God  and  faith  in  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  are  set  forth  also  as  the  bestow- 
ments  of  infinite  grace.  Here  he  is  brought  in 
contact  with  a  system  which  inculcates  universal 
holiness,  and  which,  cordially  embraced,  inspires 
the  love  of  that  eternal  rectitude  which  will  sur- 
vive all  sublunary  changes,  emerge  from  the 
dissolution  of  all  things,  and  be  impressed  in 
effulgent  characters  on  the  new  heaven  and  the 
new  earth,  in  which  dwelleth  righteousness. 

Whatever  intellectual  acquirements,  and  what- 
ever principles  form  the  human  character,  time 
developes  them  in  the  various  relations  of  life, 
and  in  the  voluntary  and  actual  operations  of 
the  moral  and  accountable  being.  Whether  we 
are  impressed  with  the  awful  importance  of  our 
condition  as  the  sojourners  upon  earth  for  a 
season,  and  apply  our  hearts  unto  wisdom,  to 


THE  NEW  YEAR. 


63 


those  duties  which  arise  out  of  our  relation  to 
God  and  to  each  other — or  whether  we  suffer 
our  intellect  to  be  debased  by  ignorance,  and 
our  hearts  to  put  forth  their  depravity  in  actions 
which  shall  go  before  to  accuse  and  condemn  us 
on  the  day  of  judgment,  time  is  opening  before 
us  those  various  developments.  Here  we  are 
transient  subjects  of  its  empire;  but  that  flood 
is  silently  bearing  us  away,  and  we  shall  soon 
find  ourselves  in  other  regions,  where  time  can- 
not follow  us,  where  the  character  formed  in 
time  is  indelible,  and  its  consequences  certain 
and  eternal.  There  is  something  exceedingly 
impressive  in  this  thought,  that  embraces  at 
once  immutability  and  eternity.  Apply  to  man, 
to  his  weal  or  woe,  to  his  happiness  or  misery, 
and  what  an  intense  interest  does  it  create  in 
our  hearts.  It  will  soon  be  realized  by  us;  we 
shall  know,  ere  long,  far  more  vividly  than  any 
imagination  can  conceive,  the  human  interests 
involved  in  the  economy  of  time.  How  indis- 
pensable then  does  it  become,  that  we  should 
obtain  some  just  notions  of  the  relations  of 
human  life  to  time,  and  to  those  human  interests 
which  it  involves;  and  especially  is  it  incumbent 
upon  us  to  realize  these  notions  at  the  com- 
mence of  a  new  year. 

The  first  idea  which  strikes  us  as  we  approach 


64 


THE  NEW  YEAR. 


these  relations,  is  that  of  brevity.  What  is  its 
extreme  limit? — three-score  years  and  ten — 
yesiYs  that  are  moments.  How  many  of  these 
years  do  men  really  live  as  rational,  reflecting, 
and  acting  moral  agents?  But  what  is  the 
average  amount  of  human  life?  The  average 
amount  of  human  life  has  been,  with  a  good 
degree  of  accuracy,  supposed  to  be  thirty-three 
years.  One  generation  of  the  human  race, 
therefore,  or  about  nine  hundred  millions,  leave 
this  world  and  enter  eternity  within  this  period. 
Thirty  millions,  of  course,  die  in  a  single  year — 
are  summoned  to  the  judgment,  and  enter  upon 
the  recompense  of  reward.  Few,  perhaps,  under 
the  age  of  thirty,  will  allow  themselves  for  a 
moment  to  think  that  that  will  be  the  limit  of 
their  earthly  existence;  and  all  who  have  passed 
that  period  will  be  presuming  upon  their  four- 
score years.  Yet  even  should  their  presump- 
tion be  realized,  the  question  again  recurs,  What 
is  your  life?  There  is  the  blank  of  infancy — 
deduct  that  from  the  sum.  There  is  the  death 
of  sleep  (and  this  is  hardly  a  figure) ;  and  there 
is  the  sleep  of  indolence,  that  frequently  steals 
over  us;  there  are  the  menial  services  of  the 
body,  and  a  variety  of  indispensable  employ- 
ments that  seem  to  be  a  suspension  of  the  intel- 
lectual and  moral  life.    Deduct  all  these,  and 


THE  NEW  YEAR. 


65 


reduce  life  to  the  period  of  its  real  vitality; 
when  it  is  able  to  put  forth,  with  vigour,  the 
power  of  thought  and  action — and  what  have 
you  left?  A  hand's-breadth.  And  deduct  from 
it  then  the  days  of  darkness,  of  decrepitude — 
the  living  death  of  extreme  old  age — how  long, 
then,  is  the  longest  life?  Nay,  in  this  view, 
how  brief  the  period  that  intervenes  between  the 
cradle  and  the  grave?  And  were  all  these  years 
unimpaired  and  perfect,  in  which  thought  and 
action  were  vigorous  to  the  last — compare  these 
with  the  knowledge  which  man  has  to  acquire, 
the  duties  he  has  to  discharge,  and  the  glorious 
destiny  he  has  to  win,  what  would  be  the»  full 
measure  of  his  life  if  stretched  out  to  its  remotest 
period,  when  weighed  in  the  balance  of  eternity, 
and  compared  with  these  mighty  interests  of  his 
soul's  well-being,  which  can  be  secured  only  in 
time? 

But  there  is  another  view  of  the  relations  of 
human  life  to  the  economy  of  time,  and  that  is 
the  rapidity  of  its  progress.  Time  travels  on 
with  an  uninterrupted,  inexorable  step.  How- 
ever long  our  movements  may  stop,  however  still 
our  work  may  stand,  our  restless  hours  pursue 
their  course ;  moment  presses  upon  moment,  day 
treads  upon  day;  not  a  particle  of  our  sand 
makes  the   smallest   pause.    The  awful  noio 


66 


THE  NEW  YEAR. 


asks  us  but  once  to  embrace  it;  tben  turns 
its  back  on  us,  and  our  hands  are  stretched 
out  after  it  in  vain.  Time  flies ;  aye,  who  can 
describe  the  astonishing  rapidity  of  its  move- 
ments. We  may,  however,  place  it  in  a  ma- 
thematical light.  The  sun  is  stationary  in 
the  heavens;  the  earth  moves  around  it  at  the 
amazing  rate  of  about  fifty  thousand  miles  an 
hour.  Now  this  is  literally  the  flight  of  time, 
the  speed  of  human  life ! 

Suppose  you  were  to  be  placed  in  a  vehicle, 
and  told  that  you  should  live  only  till  it  had 
moved  round  a  certain  space  so  many  times — 
you  would  at  once  feel  that  in  this  condition  the 
length  of  your  life  depended  not  so  much  on  the 
space  the  vehicle  had  to  go  over,  as  on  the 
rapidity  with  which  it  moved.  The  faster  it 
went  over  the  allotted  space,  the  sooner  your 
life  would  end.  And,  0,  if  you  loved  life,  if 
you  dreaded  death,  how  much  would  you  grudge 
every  inch  of  ground  you  passed  over?  You 
would  deem  the  slowest  pace  of  the  vehicle  too 
fast.  Or  if,  during  your  progress,  you  were 
aroused  to  a  sense  of  having  lived,  so  far  as 
concerned  those  interests  for  which  life  was 
given,  totally  in  vain,  how  would  your  alarm 
and  terror  keep  pace  with  the  rapid  movement 
that  was  bearing  you  away ! 


THE  NEW  YEAR. 


67  ' 


Now  this  IS  substantially  true.  The  earth  on 
which  you  live  is  the  vehicle;  and  you  are 
assured,  that  when  it  has  carried  you  around 
the  sun  a  certain  number  times,  your  life  shall 
end.  Do  you  not  then  feel  anxious  to  know  the 
rate  at  which  you  are  running  in  this  journey  of 
life?  And  when  you  are  told  that  you  are 
accomplishing  it  at  the  rate  of  so  many  miles 
an  hour,  may  you  not  exclaim,  with  the  prophet, 
"My  days  are  swifter  than  a  courier;  they  flee 
away"?  You  can  actually  calculate  the  ground 
you  have  gone  over.  Multiply  the  rate  at  which 
the  earth  travels  annually  by  the  number  of 
years  you  have  lived,  and  you  will  see  how  far  you 
have  already  travelled,  and  find  that,  whether 
you  have  been  sleeping  or  waking,  thoughtful  or 
inconsiderate,  you  have  been  always  rushing 
towards  the  goal  of  life,  drawing  nearer  to  it  by 
thousands  of  miles  every  hour;  so  that  however 
vast  the  space  you  had  to  travel  over  at  first, 
it  is  daily,  hourly  diminishing,  at  a  rate  which 
will  soon  bring  you  to  your  journey's  end. 

Uncertainty  is  another  characteristic  of  the 
relation  of  human  life  to  time,  and  the  human 
interests  which  it  involves.  See  how  suddenly 
death  may  arrest  you,  and  drag  you  from  your 
vehicle  at  the  moment  when  perhaps  you  were 
dreaming  of  happy  years,  and  accumulating  a 


68 


THE  NEW  YEAR. 


fortune,  with  troops  of  friends,  and  distinctions 
of  honour.  The  fact  is,  whatever  human  inter- 
ests are  comprehended  in  the  empire  of  time, 
and  which  human  life  is  to  secure,  there  is  but 
one  clear,  certain  moment  in  which  they  can 
be  pursued;  and  that  is  the  present  moment. 
There  is  indeed  certainty  in  the  past;  but  that 
is  gone — it  will  never  be  recalled.  Already  it 
has  sent  up  its  account  to  be  registered,  in  order 
to  be  produced  at  the  day  of  final  judgment. 

This  should  remind  us  of  another  character- 
istic of  the  relation  of  human  life  to  time;  and 
that  is,  probation.  When  we  contrast  the  facul- 
ties of  man,  his  high  capacity  of  reason,  and  his 
religious  instincts;  when  we  contrast  all  this 
with  the  debasing  influence  of  the  world,  and 
the  vanity  and  brevity  of  life,  we  are  assured 
that  the  present  is  not  a  final  state.  When  we 
consider,  too,  the  struggles  piety  has  to  main- 
tain against  the  antagonism  of  unbelief  and  sin ; 
when  we  perceive  the  latter  often  triumph; 
when  vice  prospers  before  our  eyes,  and  virtue 
is  driven  in  poverty  to  weep  in  secret;  when  all 
moral  elements  are  confounded,  and  we  behold 
disorder  all  around,  which  no  providence  inter- 
feres to  rectify,  and  no  retribution  visits  with 
well-deserved  punishment ;  and  the  passive  vir- 
tues and  active  energies  of  the  good  arc  severely 


THE  NEW  YEAR. 


69 


tried  and  perpetually  counteracted,  and  evil  is 
stirred  up  from  the  very  depth  of  depravity, 
and  pours  forth  its  acrimonious  and  polluting 
streams  over  the  face  of  society;  when,  in  one 
word,  moral  good  and  evil  are  seen  to  be  just 
placed  in  circumstances  to  draw  forth  the 
strongest  manifestations  of  their  opposing  cha- 
racters, but  are  not  followed  by  their  due 
rewards  and  punishments — the  conclusion  is 
inevitable,  that  the  present  state  is  not  final; 
it  is  probationary;  it  is  the  seed-time,  of  which 
immortality  will  reap  the  harvest;  it  is  a  soil 
bearing  evil  and  good,  and  both  may  be  sown ; 
and  whatever  is  sown  shall  yield  its  proper 
fruit,  but  not  while  winter  lasts.  The  probation 
continues  only  while  the  soil  is  cultivating,  and 
the  seed  is  growing,  until  it  is  proved  of  what 
sort  it  is.  Here  he  that  sows  to  the  flesh  in 
another  state,  shall  reap  corruption  in  the  same 
manner;  he  that  soweth  to  the  Spirit,  shall  reap 
life  everlasting.  Just  as  the  individual  regards 
the  human  interests  which  the  economy  of 
time  involves,  will  be  his  happiness  or  misery  in 
eternity. 

Here  we  have  another  reflection  to  suggest, 
namely,  that  this  relation  of  human  life  to  time 
is  one  of  tremendous  responsibility.   Every  step 
of  the  probation,  opportunities  neglected,  princi- 
7 


70 


THE  NEW  YEAR. 


pies  sacrificed,  obligations  renounced,  guilty  pas- 
sions indulged,  temptations  thrown  in  the  way 
of  others;  all  the  evil  done,  all  the  good  pre- 
vented; the  pollutions  of  the  heart,  the  offences 
of  the  life,  corrupt  motives,  sinful  desires,  the 
neglect  or  the  abandonment  of  the  great  pur- 
pose for  the  accomplishment  of  which  the 
economy  of  time  and  probation  W'ere  brought 
into  existence — each  and  all  will  be  the  subject 
of  investigation  in  the  day  of  judgment,  and  its 
decision  will  be  in  strict  accordance  with  the 
evidence  in  every  case.  We  are  not  merely  pass- 
ing through  time  into  eternity;  one  is  not  the 
mere  consequence  of  the  other,  but  our  eternity 
will  be  happy  or  miserable  as  we  have  answered 
or  defeated  the  great  end  of  our  terrestrial  pro- 
bation. Every  child  of  Adam  that  dies,  and 
has  lived  long  enough  to  stand  upon  his  proba- 
tion—that is,  who  has  passed  the  years  of  in- 
fancy— has  to  account  for  all  before  the  bar  of 
the  Eternal.  "  These  shall  go  away  into  ever- 
lasting punishment,  but  the  righteous  into  life 
eternal."  The  moral  consciousness  of  this  world 
•  will  prove  either  the  heaven  or  the  hell  of  the 
next.  .We  are  at  this  moment  standing  in  the 
path  and  taking  a  direction  either  to  the  one  or 
the  other.  And  what  do  these  fearful  conside- 
rations imply?    If  from  this  single  point  of 


THE  NEW  YEAR. 


71 


time  the  destinies  of  eternity  take  their  charac- 
ter, and  if  in  the  choice,  the  decision,  the  im- 
provement of  a  moment,  immortal  and  everlast- 
ing interests  are  suspended,  it  behoves  us  to 
consider  the  special  duties  which  spring  out  of 
these  various  relations,  which  assume  peculiar 
weight  at  the  present  season.  The  voice  of  the 
opening  year  to  every  reader  is,  "Redeem  the 
time — the  days  are  evil."  And  every  devout 
heart  which  is  impressed  with  the  solemn  con- 
victions we  have  endeavoured  to  awaken,  is 
breathing  the  supplication  of  the  Psalmist,  "So 
teach  us  to  number  our  days  that  we  may  apply 
our  hearts  unto  wisdom." 

The  first  hours  of  a  year  ought  to  be  spent 
in  serious,  faithful  retrospection.  A  year  is 
gone,  but  its  responsibilities  remain ;  and  who 
can  estimate  the  alarming  amount!  He  that 
is  so  infatuated  as  to  deem  a  single  year  an 
insignificant  part  of  the  life  of  man,  betrays 
the  sad  secret  of  his  degeneracy,  and  forces 
upon  us  the  appalling  reflection,  that  his  whole 
earthly  career  has  been  a  blank,  and  respon- 
sibility and  guilt  have  kept  an  equal  pace  with  » 
his  flying  hours;  and  that  if  arraigned,  at  the 
bar  of  God,  who  requireth  that  which  is  past, 
he  would  sink  reproved  and  condemned  into 
everlasting  ruin.    Time,  even  its  minutest  parti- 


72 


THE  NEW  YEAR. 


cles,  is  infinitely  precious;  gold  and  rubies,  com- 
pared with  it,  are  less  than  nothing.  "  I  have 
lost  a  day  was  once  uttered  with  a  sigh;  with 
what  a  groan  should  it  be  said,  "  I  have  lost  a 
year!" 

Introspection  is  never  more  seasonable  than 
at  the  point  which  divides  one  period  of  our 
earthly  existence  from  another.  When  Time 
calls  upon  us  to  record  his  progress,  and  to 
pause  between  the  past  and  the  future,  the 
receding  and  the  advancing  year  have  both  a 
voice,  which  may  be  heard  in  the  sanctuary  of 
conscience;  but  then  every  other  sound  must  be 
hushed,  and  the  soul  must  commune  with  itself 
alone. 

There  is  one  class  of  our  readers  who  may 
derive  eminent  advantage  by  commencing  the 
year  with  a  sacred  regard  to  its  improvement. 
We  refer  to  the  rising  generation,  who,  in  the 
nature  of  things,  have  before  them  the  greater 
portion  of  that  life  which  is  the  allotment  of 
humanity ;  who  have  not  squandered  or  wasted 
it  away,  or  who  are  not  so  far  launched  on  the 
ocean  of  dissipation  and  folly,  that  they  may  be 
brought  back  to  the  shore,  to  prepare  for  another 
voyage,  on  another  ocean,  and  with  the  port  of 
immortal  happiness  in  view.  These,  therefore, 
we  would  earnestly  and  affectionately  counsel. 


THE  NEW  YEAR. 


There  are  three  grand  divisions  of  your  time 
which,  if  rightly  improved,  will  embrace  the 
whole  round  of  human  obligation  as  regards  the 
progress  of  the  present  life  to  its  final  destina- 
tion. There  is  first,  your  secular  time,  which 
belongs  to  society;  there  is  secondly,  your  own 
time,  the  hours  when  you  may  retire  to  study, 
or  to  the  bosom  of  your  family,  to  the  lecture- 
room,  to  the  sanctuary  of  religion,  or  to  betake 
yourself  to  the  walks  of  usefulness;  these  sea- 
sons are  portions  of  the  common  days  of  the 
week;  then  there  is  your  sacred  time,  which 
belongs  to  God,  and  to  the  concerns  of  eternity. 
As  the  last  is  the  most  important,  we  shall  begin 
with  it. 

The  Sabbath  is  the  palladium  of  your  heart 
amidst  the  temptations  and  fascinations  of  the 
world;  it  is  the  sanctuary  of  whatsoever  things 
are  true,  whatsoever  things  are  honest,  whatso- 
ever things  are  pure,  whatsoever  things  are 
lovely,  whatsoever  things  are  of  good  report. 
Reverence  the  Sabbath  and  keep  it;  count  it 
honourable,  and  make  it  your  delight.  Meet 
with  your  brethren  in  the  faith,  where  prayer  is 
wont  to  be  made.  Mingle  your  devotions  with 
the  sons  and  daughters  of  the  Lord  God  Al- 
mighty.   Give  the  truths  of  salvation  a  welcome 

to  your  hearts.    Let  the  retired  hours  of  this 
7* 


74 


THE  NEW  YEAR. 


blessed  day  find  you  employed  in  holding  com- 
munion with  God,  and  in  visits  of  mercy  to  the 
ignorant  and  the  wretched  that  are  perishing 
around  you.  You  will  then  be  guarded  against 
every  evil.  You  will  enter  fully  into  the  merci- 
ful design  of  Heaven,  in  connection  with  time 
and  the  human  interests  that  it  involves.  A 
Sabbath  well  spent,  its  hours  rightly  improved 
and  devoted,  not  to  objects  of  secular  import- 
ance, nor  to  the  cultivation  of  the  intellect  and 
of  the  taste,  but  to  the  increase  of  spiritual 
knowledge,  and  preparation  for  eternity;  this 
will  keep  alive  in  your  bosoms  a  conscientious 
solicitude  to  please  in  all  things  and  at  all  times. 

Thus  your  secular  time,  though  employed  in 
the  business  of  the  world,  will  be  regarded  by 
you  as  valuable,  not  only  for  its  secular  use, 
but  as  affording  you  the  opportunity  of  acquir- 
ing much  useful  knowledge  by  observation  and 
intercourse  with  your  fellow-men,  as  well  as  of 
impressing  them  with  the  force  and  purity  of 
your  principles,  the  consistency  of  your  charac- 
ter, and  the  superiority  which  true  religion  con- 
fers upon  her  true  disciples. 

If  the  business  or  occupation  which  we  fol- 
low as  our  proper  calling  be  pursued  with  a 
spirit  of  industry,  with  a  love  of  justice,  and 
with  a  mind  free  to  converse  with  God  in  the 


THE  NEW  YEAR. 


75 


intervals  of  worldly  engagements,  this  will  sanc- 
tify all  that  is  secular,  and  the  common  affairs 
of  life  will  thus  be  turned  to  a  religious  account. 
It  is  possible  so  to  work  in  our  calling  as  not  to 
neglect  to  work  in  our  high  calling,  to  unite 
the  Church  and  the  commonwealth,  the  interests 
of  the  body  and  the  interests  of  the  soul — the 
time  which  is  more  properly  your  own,  which 
you  can  dispose  of  as  you  please  without  inter- 
ference or  control.  It  is  on  the  right  improve- 
ment of  these  portions  of  life  that  your  intel- 
lectual, moral,  and  spiritual  excellence  greatly 
depends.  If  in  these  seasons  you  keep  your 
heart  with  all  diligence,  if  your  recreation  be 
but  an  exchange  of  one  employment  for  another, 
if  the  pursuits  of  science  or  the  acquisition  of 
accomplishments  supply  you  with  materials  for 
reflection  and  become  a  zest  to  devotion  rather 
than  a  drawback ;  and  above  all,  if  among  the 
various  objects  which  employ  the  energies  of 
the  Church,  you  select  one  on  which  to  expend 
your  thoughts  and  your  best  and  persevering 
efforts,  then  will  you  indeed  rightly  improve 
your  time;  your  leisure  moments  will  be  golden 
mercies,  you  will  enjoy  life,  and  it  will  be  a 
blessing.  Nor  is  this  all.  What  we  sow  in  a 
few  minutes  and  spare  portions  of  time,  grows 
up  to  crowns  and  sceptres  in  a  glorious  eternity. 


T6  THE  VOICE  OF  THE  NEW  YEAR. 


THE  VOICE  OF  THE  NEW  YEAR. 

''time  wasted  is  existence;  used,  is  life." 

Another  of  our  years  has  passed  away.  Its 
varied  aggregate  of  events  is  completed.  They 
cannot  be  cancelled  or  recalled.  Their  effects 
will  never  cease  to  be  felt  for  good  or  for  evil. 
On  communities  they  will  extend  throughout 
their  entire  history,  and  on  individuals  through- 
out eternity.  In  ages  yet  to  come,  men  will 
appeal  to  them  as  the  source  of  changes  still 
telling  on  the  destiny  of  empires,  and  modifying 
the  aspect  of  the  world ;  and  amid  the  rewards 
and  retributions  of  another  life,  multitudes  of 
spirits  will  turn  to  them  as  having  fixed  upon 
them  the  indelible  stamp  of  happiness  or  misery 
— as  deciding  them  for  heaven  or  hell.  In 
great  and  solemn  events  which  constitute  eras 
in  history,  and  speak  in  monitory  tones  to  the 
nations  of  the  earth,  the  year  which  has  just 
closed  is  invested  with  a  prominence  that  will 
render  it  memorable  throughout  all  ages. 

And  turning  to  the  religious  aspect  of  the 
past  year,  what  pentecostal  tokens  of  the  near- 
ness of  millennial  times  have  been  granted  to  the 
Church  of  God  in  this  land — what  living  and 


THE  VOICE  OF  THE  NEW  YEAR.  77 

immortal  testimonies  have  been  given  to  the 
power  of  the  gospel.  How  many  myriads  have 
been  constrained  to  listen  to  the  voice  of  wis- 
dom, and  have  followed  in  her  shining  footsteps; 
forsaking  the  slippery  and  ruinous  ways  of  sin, 
and  climbing  the  ascending  and  ever-brighten- 
ing path  of  the  just;  and  yet,  alas,  multitudes 
have  stopped  their  ears  against  the  voice  of  the 
charmer,  have  stifled  convictions,  have  quenched 
the  Spirit,  and  have  plunged  with  greater  and 
more  fatal  avidity  into  worldly  pursuits,  amuse- 
ments, folly,  and  sin.  Happy  the  churches 
that  can  look  back  with  mingled  feelings  of 
gratitude  and  humble  triumph  on  efforts  put 
forth  and  sacrifices  made  for  the  glory  of  God 
and  the  salvation  of  men;  and  happy  those 
among  the  young  or  those  of  riper  years  who 
can  reflect  on  the  year  that  has  gone  as  the 
turning  point  in  their  moral  history,  as  the 
commencement  of  a  life  that  shall  never  end! 
But  how  sad,  how  portentous  the  review,  in  the 
case  of  those  to  whom  the  past  presents  no 
memorials  of  repentance,  no  evidence  of  faith, 
no  hallowed  seasons  of  prayer,  no  bright  spot 
illumined  and  immortalized  by  victory  over  sin 
and  communion  with  God. 

But  as  the  year  which  has  just  closed  was 
fraught  with  events  important  to  the  world,  to 


78  THE  VOICE  OF  THE  NEW  YEAR. 

churches,  to  families  and  individuals,  so  is  that 
which  has  commenced.  It  will  be  ever  memora- 
ble to  thousands.  As  it  rolls  on,  week  after 
week  and  month  after  month  will  unfold  events 
whose  influence  will  spread  over  every  future 
year,  and  accompany  us  into  the  world  beyond. 
What,  every  thoughtful  reader  will  ask,  will  be 
the  position  of  our  country  at  its  close ;  what 
the  aspect  of  the  churches  of  this  land;  what 
the  condition  of  the  family  or  circle  of  friends 
to  which  he  belongs;  and  what  his  own  destiny, 
as  an  intelligent,  immortal  being?  The  man 
who  does  not  awake  to  solemn  musings  on  the 
future,  when  the  new  year,  trumpet-tongued, 
summons  all  to  thoughtfulness,  self-examination, 
and  prayer,  must  be  the  victim  of  an  insensi- 
bility that  implies  long  familiarity  with  sin,  and, 
it  may  be,  indicates  judicial  abandonment  by  the 
Spirit  of  God.  The  new  year  calls  us  to  commit 
our  ways  to  God  in  deep  thoughtfulness  and 
prayer,  as  he  alone  knows  what  it  will  bring 
forth. 

The  year  that  has  commenced  is  veiled  to 
every  mortal  eye.  No  human  sagacity  can  tell 
what  may  take  place  before  its  close.  No 
created  wisdom  can  penetrate  the  mystery  that 
shrouds  it,  or  make  adequate  preparation  for 
its  contingencies  and  possibilities.  Imagination, 


THE  VOICE  OF  THE  NEW  YEAR.  79 


drawing  its  materials  from  the  past,  may  gkdden 
or  terrify  by  the  pictures  it  presents; — anxiety 
may  tremblingly  anticipate  scenes  of  perplexity, 
sorrow,  or  disappointment,  and  may  cease  to 
draw  comfort  from  the  promises  and  providence 
of  God; — hope  may  spread  its  glittering  wing, 
and  speed  on  throughout  the  entire  course  of 
the  year,  light'ng  up  stars  of  promise  along  its 
way,  and  enriching  every  day  mth.  fresh  and 
joyous  tokens  of  happiness  and  success; — keen- 
eyed  speculation  may  attempt  to  pry  into  the 
future,  and  pretend  to  foresee  and  classify  the 
fluctuations  of  trade,  and  commerce,  and  poli- 
tics;— presumptuous  self-confidence  may  assume 
the  mantle  of  the  prophet,  and  tell  of  vials  to 
be  poured  out,  and  new  phases  of  history  to  be 
evolved;  but  all  will  prove  nothing  better  than 
the  vague  surmises  of  men  who  attempt  to  give 
shape  and  substance  to  the  impalpable  shadows 
of  a  dream.  The  eye  of  Omniscience  alone 
beholds,  and  the  hand  of  Omnipotence  alone 
can  marshal  and  control  the  events  with  which 
the  future  teems.  The  fears  of  anxiety  and  the 
visions  of  hope  will  alike,  in  a  thousand  in- 
stances, fail  of  realization;  the  predictions  of 
matured  wisdom,  as  well  as  the  arrogant  assump- 
tions of  reckless  speculation,  may  be  rebuked; 
the  sky  that  is  now  brightest  may  be  overcast; 


80  THE  VOICE  OF  THE  NEW  YEAR. 


■whilst  that  which  is  cloudy,  and  charged  with 
the  elements  of  tempest,  may  become  serene  and 
sun-lighted.  The  times  and  the  seasons  are  in 
the  keeping  of  God,  nor  can  man  or  angel  be 
permitted  to  invade  that  sacred  province.  The 
future  is  a  sealed  book,  and  can  be  opened  and 
read  by  finite  beings  only  when  it  becomes  the 
present. 

At  the  commencement  of  a  new  year,  then, 
as  far  as  mere  human  sagacity  and  foresight  are 
concerned,  we  resemble  voyagers  launching  on 
a  sea,  overhung  with  impenetrable  mists;  or 
soldiers  listening  to  the  first  trumpet-note  that 
calls  them  to  a  conflict  which  may  issue  in  vic- 
tory or  defeat.  We  must  advance ;  an  irrever- 
sible law  sweeps  us  on ;  but  it  is  a  veiled  and 
untrodden  future  that  lies  before  us,  whose  dark- 
ness enwraps  all  that  we  hope  or  fear,  and  seems 
to  gather  around  us  in  thicker  gloom  in  propor- 
tion to  our  anxiety  to  read  its  secrets.  Our 
refuge  then  is  God,  and  not  man;  our  guide, 
faith,  and  not  experience,  or  the  forecastings  of 
human  sagacity;  and  the  appeal  addressed  to 
us  by  the  new  year  is,  "Trust  in  the  Lord  and 
do  good;  so  shalt  thou  dwell  in  the  land,  and 
verily  thou  shalt  be  fed.  Delight  thyself  also 
in  the  Lord,  and  he  shall  give  thee  the  desires 
of  thine  heart.     Commit  thy  way  unto  the 


THE  VOICE  OF  THE  NEW  YEAR.  81 


Lord;  trust  also  in  him,  and  he  shall  bring  it  to 
pass."  "In  all  thy  ways  acknowledge  him,  and 
he  shall  direct  thy  paths." 

Again,  'the  new  year  summons  us  to  confi- 
dence in  God,  because  it  is  charged  with  events 
of  the  highest  importance  to  multitudes,  and  it 
may  be  to  us. 

Whilst  the  year  which  has  just  commenced  is 
wrapped  in  shadows,  which  neither  the  conjec- 
tures of  prying  curiosity  nor  the  forecastings  of 
anxious  care  can  penetrate,  and  whilst  no  voice 
falls  on  the  ear,  to  tell  what  may  transpire  dur- 
ing its  flight,  it  is  fraught  with  events  important 
to  the  world,  to  churches,  to  families  and  to 
individuals;  and  may  it  not  be  to  the  reader 
whose  eyes  rests  on  these  pages.  By  nature's 
laws  what  may  be,  may  be  now.  There  is  no  pre- 
rogative in  human  hours.  Already  the  seeds  of 
events,  which  shall  be  decisive  of  our  earthly 
fortunes,  have  perhaps  been  sown,  and  it  may 
be  only  the  flight  of  a  few  short  months  is  needed 
to  bring  them  to  maturity.  A  tempest  may  be 
impending,  whose  nearness  a  vivid  flash  or  a 
few  falling  drops  have  already  proclaimed,  and 
before  many  days  have  passed,  it  may  sweep  in 
desolation  over  us.  The  scene  that  now  looks 
fair  and  serene,  all  bathed  in  sunshine,  may  be 
stripped  of  everything  that  kindles  admiration 
8 


82  THE  VOICE  OF  THE  NEW  YEAR. 


or  envy,  and  left  like  one  of  the  islands  of  the 
Pacific,  over  which  the  hurricane  has  passed. 
Each  day,  as  it  appears,  will  bear  on  its  wings 
events,  or  the  tidings  of  events,  that  will  mock 
the  visions  of  hope,  and  dim  the  gorgeous  tapes- 
tries of  pictured  joys. 

Now,  the  position  which  we  occupy  may  appear 
fortified  against  the  hazards  that  throng  around ; 
but  a  tide  may  be  rising  that  may  undermine 
the  foundation  on  which  we  rest; — secret  fires 
may  be  struggling  beneath  our  feet,  speedily  to 
break  forth  like  the  slumbering  volcano  in  wast- 
ing and  ruin.  Now,  business  may  realize  our 
best  expectation;  fortune  may  smile  upon  us, 
and  multitudes  may  gather  around  to  present 
flatteries  or  heartfelt  congratulations;  but  before 
the  close  of  the  year,  shadows  may  have  gather- 
ed, plans  may  have  been  frustrated,  and  flat- 
terers may  have  fallen  ofl",  like  autumnal  leaves 
when  touched  by  chilling  winds,  whilst  friends 
may  be  called  to  substitute  condolence  for  con- 
gratulation. Now,  our  name  may  be  honoured 
wherever  it  is  pronounced — in  the  work-shop  or 
the  market-place,  in  the  private  circle  or  the 
public  assembly;  but  calumnious  tongues  may 
assail  us;  falsehood  may  impair  our  reputation, 
and  without  the  means  of  defence  or  vindication, 
we  may  have  the  bitterness  to  know  that  our 


THE  VOICE  OF  THE  NEW  YEAR. 


83 


principles  are  questioned,  and  our  integrity 
impeached,  where  once  we  were  esteemed  and 
honoured.  Now,  an  unclouded  light  may  rest  on 
our  dwellings,  and  glad  faces  may  meet  us,  re- 
flecting and  augmenting  our  happiness;  but  this 
year  a  change  may  come — sickness  and  death 
may  enter.  Hearts  that  ever  throbbed  responsive 
to  ours,  may  cease  to  beat;  eyes  that  uniformly 
shone  upon  us  with  the  beamings  of  tenderest 
love,  may  become  dim;  faces  that  looked  up  to 
us,  flashing  with  intelligence  and  afi'ection,  may 
sink  into  the  grave ;  the  pall  of  sorrow  may  have 
taken  the  place  of  the  festal  garments  of  happi- 
ness. Multitudes  who  are  now  in  the  enjoyment 
of  health,  who  mingle  with  eagerness  in  the  fes- 
tivities of  the  season,  and  are  looking  forward 
to  the  realization  of  cherished  hopes,  will  this 
year  be  numbered  with  the  dead;  instead  of  the 
journey  of  pleasure,  there  will  be  departure  to 
the  regions  of  the  dead;  instead  of  the  bridal 
robe,  there  will  be  the  shroud;  instead  of  gains 
and  pleasures,  there  will  be  the  cold  obstruc- 
tions of  the  tomb.  And  may  it  not  be  that  you 
who  read  these  sentences  shall  this  year  be  smit- 
ten by  the  hand  of  death?  Long  before  its 
close  the  grass  may  cover  your  last  resting- 
place,  your  ear  may  be  shut  to  the  sounds  of  the 
world,  and  your  destiny  in  eternity  may  be  fixed, 


84  THE  VOICE  OF  THE  NEW  YEAR. 

never,  never  to  change.  How  solemn  then  are 
the  thoughts  with  which  the  commencement  of 
the  year  should  inspire  us,  and  how  monitory 
and  urgent  the  appeal  it  addresses  to  us !  Its 
appeal  is,  ^'Prepare  to  meet  thy  God;''  "Watch 
and  pray;''  "Whatsoever  thy  hand  findeth  to 
do,  do  it  with  thy  might ;  for  there  is  no  work, 
nor  device,  nor  knowledge,  nor  wisdom,  in  the 
the  grave,  whither  thou  goest." 

Further:  As  this  year  may  be  our  last,  its 
commencement  calls  the  Christian  to  increased 
devotedness,  and  the  undecided  to  immediate 
decision  for  God. 

The  solemn  possibility  that  the  year  on  which 
we  have  entered  may  terminate  the  period  of 
our  active  service  for  God  on  earth,  urges  upon 
Christians,  in  loud  and  monitory  tones,  the  duty 
of  augmented  zeal  and  devotedness.  Every 
Christian,  we  should  ever  remember,  is  sent  on 
a  mission  intimately  connected  with  the  honour 
of  Christ  and  the  salvation  of  the  world.  To  his 
care  and  stewardship  talents  have  been  commit- 
ted, on  the  right  employment  of  which  his  final 
acceptance  and  the  brightness  of  his  crown  are 
dependent.  The  impressive  thought,  then,  that 
before  this  year  has  reached  its  close,  we  may 
have  passed  away  from  the  post  of  usefulness 
we  now  occupy,  and  the  opportunities  of  self- 


THE  VOICE  OF  THE  NEW  YEAR. 


85 


improvement  we  now  enjoy;  that  the  talents 
committed  to  our  hands  may  have  been  recalled, 
and  our  place  assigned  us  among  the  mighty 
company  of  the  dead,  ought  surely  to  quicken 
us  as  if  an  angel  spoke.  If  we  can  humbly 
trust  that  the  Master,  as  he  looks  down  benig- 
nantly  upon  us,  says,  "  You  have  done  what  you 
could,"  the  consciousness  of  this,  combined  with 
the  thought  that  our  efforts  for  his  glory  may 
speedily  come  to  an  end,  should  stimulate  to 
higher  and  more  self-denying  acts  of  consecra- 
tion to  his  service.  It  should  quicken  us  to  aug- 
mented efforts  for  the  prosperity  of  the  Church 
with  which  we  stand  connected;  for  the  salva- 
tion of  the  families  to  which  we  belong ;  for  the 
enlightenment  of  the  neighbourhood  where  we 
dwell,  and  for  the  evangelization  of  the  world 
at  large. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  we  are  smitten  with 
the  conviction  that  we  have  been  unprofitable 
servants;  if  we  feel  that  the  Master  looks  down 
upon  us  saying,  "Behold,  I  come,  seeking  fruit 
on  this  fig-tree,  and  find  none!''  the  thought  that 
the  day  is  far  spent,  and  the  night  at  hand,  calls 
us  to  deal  faithfully  with  ourselves;  to  test  our 
principles;  to  weigh  and  analyze  our  motives; 
to  cast  loathingly  from  us  all  forms  and  shams; 
to  see  that  our  efi*orts  for  the  cause  of  God  are 
8* 


86  THE  VOICE  OF  THE  NEW  YEAR. 


not  marred  and  rendered  oflFensive,  like  the  gift 
of  Ananias  and  Sapphira,  by  the  part  which  is 
kept  back  in  the  spirit  of  dishonest  and  selfish 
concealment ;  and  to  cultivate  the  spirit  of  vigi- 
lance and  prayer,  that  when  the  coming  of  the 
Bridegroom  is  announced,  we  may  be  ready  with 
our  lamps  burning,  and  our  loins  girt  about  with 
truth. 

If  indecision  still  cleaves  to  us;  if,  amid 
the  loud  calls  of  Providence,  the  pleadings  of 
conscience,  the  entreaties  of  friends,  and  the 
arguments  and  persuasions  of  an  enlightened 
and  faithful  ministry,  we  have  hitherto  remained 
among  the  undecided,  oscillating  between  convic- 
tions of  sin  and  the  allurements  of  the  world — 
between  the  claims  of  Christ  and  the  fascina- 
tions of  amusement  or  business — the  solemn 
thought  that  this  year  we  may  be  numbered 
with  the  dead,  calls  us  with  the  emphasis  of  a 
voice  from  heaven  to  decide  for  God.  Inde- 
cision is  a  state  of  painful  disturbance  and  peril, 
rapidly  tending  to  the  hardened  insensibility  of 
utter  and  irremediable  impenitence.  The  vessel 
that  is  tossed  from  billow  to  billow,  without 
rudder  or  compass,  gains  no  haven  of  safety, 
but  inevitably  sinks  amid  the  waves,  or  strews 
the  beach  with  her  fragments.  In  like  manner, 
the  man  who  suffers  himself  to  become  the  victim 


THE  VOICE  OF  THE  NEW  YEAR.  87 


of  the  perilous  alternations  of  indecision,  seldom 
or  never  reaches  the  security,  or  tastes  the  hap- 
piness of  heartfelt,  undivided  devotedness  to  the 
service  of  God.  Reader,  if  you  are  still  halting 
between  two  opinions,  the  dread  possibility  which 
hangs  over  you  calls  you  to  immediate  decision. 
If  you  will  not  decide,  the  flight  of  a  few  months 
may.  The  hour  is  on  the  wing — it  may  be  close 
at  hand — that  will  put  decision  for  ever  beyond 
your  reach.  Before  this  year  has  closed,  your 
opportunities  of  deciding  for  God  may  have 
ceased,  and  the  sentence  may  have  gone  forth 
against  you,  Cut  it  down;  why  cumbereth  it 
the  ground?''  Continued  indecision  is  inevita- 
ble ruin. 

Some  who  may  read  this  article  are  perhaps 
altogether  unmoved  by  the  flight  of  time,  or  the 
possibility  of  a  sudden  call  to  stand  in  the  pre- 
sence of  God.  Many  years  have  swept  over 
them,  and  yet  they  have  thought  no  more  of 
eternity,  to  which  they  are  hastening,  than  if 
they  were  exempted  from  its  dread  decisions 
and  allotments.  The  year  that  has  just  passed 
has  only  added  to  the  amount  of  their  misspent 
time,  and  deepened  their  insensibility.  Their 
thoughts  have  been  occupied  exclusively  with  the 
present; — business,  pleasure,  and,  it  may  be, 
guilty  indulgence,  have  left  no  room  for  the 


88 


THE  VOICE  OF  THE  NEW  YEAR. 


solemnities  of  death,  judgment,  and  eternity. 
Occasionally,  perhaps,  thoughts  of  God  and  re- 
sponsibility, of  heaven  and  hell,  may  have  flashed 
across  their  mind,  but  they  have  speedily  passed 
away.  Like  midnight  lightning,  they  have  van- 
ished in  darkness,  and,  by  contrast,  have  only 
served  to  reveal  the  fearful  and  portentious 
intensity.  Reader,  do  you  belong  to  this  class? 
This  year  may  be  your  last.  Beware  lest  you 
be  numbered  with  those  who,  throughout  eter- 
nity, shall  be  stung  and  overwhelmed  with  the 
bitter  consciousness  that  they  misspent  their 
days,  and  have  forfeited  for  ever  the  great  end 
of  life. 

<*I  asked  a  dying  sinner,  ere  the  stroke 
Of  ruthless  Death  life's  golden  bowl  had  broke: 
I  asked  him — *  What  is  time?'    *Time!'  he  replied, 
*rvelostit!    Ah!  the  treasure!' — and  he  died. 

**I  asked  a  spirit  lost;  but  0  the  shriek 
That  pierced  my  soul!  I  shudder  while  I  speak! 
It  cried — *A  particle,  a  speck,  a  mite, 
Of  endless  years'  duration  infinite!' 

<*I  asked  my  Bible,  and  methinks  it  said, 
*  Thine  is  the  present  hour;  the  past  is  fled. 
Live!  live  to-day!  to-morrotv  never  yet 
On  human  being  rose  or  set.'  " 


RETROSPECTS  AND  PROSPECTS.  89 


THE  NEW  YEAK;  OR,  RETROSPECTS 
AND  PROSPECTS. 

Christian  reader^  let  the  opening  year  be 
regarded  by  you  as  a  call  to  serious  thought. 
Pause  in  your  course,  that  both  the  past  and  the 
future  may  be  contemplated  in  their  proper 
lights.  '  You  have  just  closed  one  period  of  time, 
and  entered  on  another.  See  to  it  that  your 
mental  attitude  is  such  as  to  correspond  with 
your  condition  and  prospects.  In  turning  your 
eye  on  the  year  that  has  closed,  you  will  doubt- 
less perceive  much  to  remind  you  of  imperfec- 
tion, of  negligence,  and  even  of  positive  failure. 

How  has  it  been  with  you  in  the  closet? 
Has  it  been  a  year  of  intimate  fellowship  with 
Heaven?  or  has  it  been  one  of  dulness  and  lan- 
guor in  the  divine  life?  Do  not  hide  from  your 
view,  beloved  reader,  the  real  state  of  the  case. 
0  think  not  that  you  are  ''rich,  and  increased 
with  goods,  and  standing  in  need  of  nothing, 
while  you  are  poor,  and  miserable,  and  wretched, 
and  blind,  and  naked. All  declensions  in  reli- 
gi'on,  remember,  begin  in  the  closet.  Have  you 
had  a  good  year,  then,  in  the  closet?  What 
progress  have  you  made  in  combatting  and  over- 


90 


THE  NEW  year;  OR, 


coming  secret  sins?  What  victory  have  you 
obtained  over  the  sin  that  doth  most  easily  beset 
you?  What  delight  have  you  found  in  medita- 
ting upon  the  word,  in  reviewing  the  solemn 
lessons  of  the  Christian  pulpit,  in  striving  to 
reach  a  more  undisputed  spirituality  of  mind,  in 
struggling  to  possess  a  greater  superiority  to 
the  world?  In  such  inquiries  as  these,  do  not, 
I  beseech  you,  deceive  yourself.  Let  not  the 
recollection  of  a  few  fitful  seasons  of  devotion 
lead  you  to  conclude  that  it  has  been  a  good 
year  to  your  soul.  Be  humble  before  the  Lord, 
if  the  verdict  of  conscience  is  unsatisfactory. 
But  be  sure  not  to  stop  here.  Both  the  facts 
and  the  causes  of  your  failure  must  be  detected. 
New  plans  of  devotion  must  be  formed;  old 
errors  must  be  relinquished ;  the  opening  year 
must  witness  not  only  your  godly  sorrow  for  the 
past,  but  such  fruits  as  are  meet  for  repentance. 
Specific  defects  and  failures  must  be  detected 
and  abandoned,  and  such  new  methods  of  prose- 
cuting the  religion  of  the  heart  must  be  resorted 
to  as  conscience  and  the  word  of  God  may  dic- 
tate. 

How  has  it  been  with  you  in  the  sanctuary? 
That  is  a  good  year  to  the  Christian,  in  which 
the  public  ordinances  of  God  have  proved  a 
decided  blessing  to  his  soul.    How  has  it  been 


BETROSPECTS  AND  PROSPECTS.  91 


with  you,  then,  Christian  reader?  Has  the  day 
of  sacred  rest  been  hailed  by  you  with  joy,  and 
have  its  hours  been  devoted  with  zeal  and  dili- 
gence to  the  great  business  of  eternity  ?  Have 
you  habitually  repaired  with  gratitude  to  the 
house  of  God,  and  sought  to  mix  faith  with  the 
word  preached?  Or  has  the  day  in  which  Christ 
rose  from  the  dead  been  a  weariness  unto  you? 
Have  its  exercises  been  attended  in  the  spirit  of 
formality,  and  has  but  little  profit  been  reaped 
from  its  holy  fellowships?  0,  look  narrowly 
into  these  questions;  and  if  you  are  constrained 
to  say  that  it  has  been  an  unprofitable  year 
with  you,  as  it  respects  the  sanctuary,  look  with 
scrutinizing  eye  into  the  cause,  be  humbled  in 
the  discovery,  and  seek  for  grace  to  enter  with 
more  zeal,  and  devotion,  and  profit  upon  the 
social  religion  of  the  coming  year. 

How  has  it  been  with  you  in  the  management 
of  your  worldly  afiairs,  and  in  your  intercourse 
with  mankind?  Have  you  been  keeping  your 
garments  unspotted?  Is  it  easy  to  determine 
whose  servant  you  are?  Or  have  you  been 
exposing  the  Christian  profession  to  the  scorn 
of  enemies?  Have  you  been  undecided,  irreso- 
lute, timid,  compromising,  and  wanting  in  holy 
consistency  of  character?  If  so,  make  a  stand 
for  God  now.    Time  is  short;  awake  out  of 


92         REFLECTIONS  ON  THE  NEW  YEAR. 

sleep.  The  Judge  may  be  even  at  the  door. 
This  year  thou  mayest  die ;  this  night  thy  soul 
may  be  required  of  thee. 

Are  any  who  read  these  lines  halting  between 
two  opinions,  neglecting  to  confess  Christ  before 
men,  stifling  the  voice  of  conscience,  and  pro- 
ceeding from  stage  to  stage  of  life  without 
giving  themselves  up  to  the  service  of  God? 
Let  this  year  be  hailed  by  them  as  a  time 
accepted  and  a  day  of  salvation.  While  God 
says  to  them,  "Seek  ye  my  face,"  let  the  reply 
of  their  hearts  be,  "Thy  face,  Lord,  will  we 
seek.''  While  the  Redeemer  addresses  them, 
as  he  did  Peter,  "Lovest  thou  me  more  than 
these?"  let  the  response  of  each  heart  be, 
"Thou  knowest  all  things;  thou  knowest  that  I 
love  thee." 


REFLECTIONS  ON  THE  NEW  YEAR. 

Can  it  be  that  another  year  has  fled!  With  all 
its  joys  and  trials,  all  its  sins  and  duties,  all  its 
instructions  and  privileges — is  it  fled? 

Yes,  it  is  gone!  It  has  terminated  the  lives 
of  millions;  and  like  an  irresistible  current,  has 
borne  them  on  to  the  grave  and  the  judgment. 


REFLECTIONS  ON  THE  NEW  YEAR.  93 


It  has  gone — like  a  dream  of  the  night,  it  has 
gone ! 

Amid  the  rapids  of  time,  there  are  few  objects 
a  man  observes  with  less  care  and  distinctness. 
To  one  standing  on  the  shore,  the  current 
appears  to  pass  by  with  inconceivable  swiftness; 
but  to  one  who  is  himself  gliding  down  the 
stream,  the  face  of  this  vast  extent  of  waters  is 
unruffled,  and  all  around  him  is  a  dead  calm. 
It  is  only  by  looking  toward  the  shore,  by  dis- 
cerning here  and  there  a  distant  landmark,  by 
casting  his  eye  back  upon  the  scenery  which  is 
retiring  from  his  view,  that  he  sees  he  is  going 
forward.  And  how  fast!  The  tall  pine  that 
stands  alone  on  the  mountain's  brow,  casts  its 
shade  far  down  the  valley,  while  the  huge  pro- 
montory throws  its  shadow  almost  immeasurably 
on  the  plain  below.  It  is  but  a  few  years  and  I 
was  greeting  life's  opening  day.  But  yesterday 
I  thought  myself  approaching  its  meridian;  to- 
day I  look  for  those  meridian  splendours,  and 
they  are  either  wholly  vanished,  or  just  descend- 
ing behind  the  evening  cloud.  I  cannot  expect 
to  weather  out  the  storms  of  this  tempestuous 
clime  much  longer.  A  few  more  billows  on 
these  dangerous  seas — perhaps  a  few  days  of  fair 
weather,  is  the  most  I  can  look  for,  before  I  am 
either  shipwrecked  or  reach  my  desired  haven. 
9 

I 


94         REFLECTIONS  ON  THE  NEW  YEAR. 

Why  fly  these  years  so  rapidly?  It  is  in 
anticipation  rather  than  retrospect,  that  men  put 
too  high  an  estimate  upon  earthly  things.  I 
have  been  wandering  to-day  in  the  graveyard ; 
I  have  trodden  softly  on  the  place  of  my  fathers' 
sepulchres.  I  have  been  playing  with  the  wil- 
low and  the  cypress  that  weep  over  their  dust. 
The  generations  of  men  dwell  here.  Yes,  here 
they  are;  those  whom  I  have  loved,  and  still 
love,  and  hope  to  love,  are  here.  The  fashion 
of  this  world  passeth  away.  The  fair  fabric  of 
earthly  good  is  built  upon  the  sand;  it  rocks 
and  falls  under  the  first  stroke  of  the  tempest. 
Man,  at  his  best  estate,  is  altogether  vanity.  It 
is  well  that  it  is  so.  Were  it  otherwise,  we 
should  put  far  off  the  evil  day,  and  live  as  if 
we  flattered  with  immortality  on  the  earth. 
When  the  Doge  of  Venice  showed  Charles  the 
Fifth  the  treasury  of  St.  Mark,  and  the  glory 
of  his  princely  palace,  instead  of  admiring  them, 
he  remarked,  ''These  are  the  things  that  make 
men  loath  to  die." 

On  what  rapid  wings  has  this  last  year  sped 
its  course!  How  sure  and  certain  an  approxi- 
mation to  the  close  of  this  earthly  existence! 
Every  year  adds  to  what  is  past,  and  leaves  less 
to  come.  What  is  your  life?  It  is  even  as  a 
vapour  that  appeareth  for  a  little  time,  and  then 


REFLECTIONS  ON  THE  NEW  YEAR. 


95 


vanisheth  away.  What  is  it  when  compared  with 
the  amount  of  labour  to  be  accomplished,  and 
the  magnitude  of  the  interest  at  stake  ?  What  is 
it  compared  with  the  facility  with  which  it  may 
be  interrupted,  and  the  ten  thousand  causes  of 
decay  and  dissolution  it  is  destined  to  encounter? 
What  is  it  compared  with  the  ever-enduring 
existence  to  which  it  is  an  introduction?  How 
fugitive — how  frail !  Hardly  has  the  weary  tra- 
veller laid  himself  down  to  rest,  when  he  is  sum- 
moned away  to  pursue  his  journey,  or  called  to 
his  everlasting  home.  We  spend  our  years  as  a 
tale  that  is  told.  The  flying  cloud,  the  evanes- 
cent vapour,  the  arrow  just  propelled  from  the 
string,  the  withering  grass,  the  flower  whose 
beauty  scarcely  blooms  ere  it  is  faded,  and  whose 
fragrance  is  scarcely  perceptible  ere  it  is  gone, 
are  apt  similitudes  of  the  life  of  man. 

I  am  but  a  wanderer,  a  pilgrim,  a  sojourner 
on  the  earth.  Though  everything  is  cheerful 
about  me,  I  feel  to-day  exiled  and  alone.  A 
thousand  recollections  crowd  upon  my  mind  to 
remind  me  of  the  past,  to  premonish  me  of  the 
future,  and  to  lead  me  to  some  just  conceptions 
of  the  present.  This  world  is  not  my  home.  I 
have  made  it  my  resting-place  too  long.  I  hear 
a  voice  to-day,  in  accent  sweet  as  angels  use, 
whispering  to  my  lonely  heart,  "Arise  and  de- 


96         REFLECTIONS  ON  THE  NEW  YEAR. 

part  hence,  for  this  is  not  your  rest."  I  am 
away  from  my  Father's  house;  I  have  felt  vexa- 
tions and  trials;  I  have  experienced  disappoint- 
ments and  losses;  I  have  known  the  alienation 
of  earthly  friends;  lam  not  a  stranger  to  de- 
jected hopes ;  I  know  something  of  conflicts 
within.  But,  now  and  then  I  have  a  glimpse  of 
the  distant  and  promised  inheritance,  which 
more  than  compensates  me  for  all.  ^It  is  no 
grief  of  heart  to  me  that  I  have  no  enduring 
portion  beneath  the  sun.  I  am  but  a  passing 
traveller  here ;  I  would  fain  feel  like  one  who  is 
passing  from  place  to  place,  and  going  from 
object  to  object,  with  his  eye  fixed  on  some  long- 
wished-for  abode  beyond,  while  every  successive 
scene  brings  me  nearer  to  the  end  of  my  course, 
and  all  these  earthly  vicissitudes  endear  to  me 
the  hopes  of  that  final  rest.  To  live  here,  how- 
ever happily,  however  usefully,  however  well, 
must  not  be  my  ultimate  object.  I  was  born  for 
eternity — nay,  I  am  the  tenant  of  eternity  even 
now.  Time  belongs  to  eternity;  it  is  a  sort  of 
isthmus — or  rather  a  little  gulf,  with  given  de- 
marcations, set  ofi*  and  bounded  by  lines  of  ignor- 
ance ;  but  it  mingles  with  the  boundless  flood; 
it  belongs  to  eternity  still.  A  great  change 
indeed  awaits  us.  We  must  drop  this  taberna- 
cle, and  go  into  a  world  of  spirits;  but  we  shall 


REFLECTIONS  ON  THE  NEW  YEAR. 


97 


be  in  the  same  duration.  I  must  live  for  eter- 
nity. 

In  entering  on  another  year,  I  know  not 
from  what  unexpected  quarter,  or  at  what  an 
unguarded  moment,  difficulties  and  dangers  may 
come.  0  that  I  could  enjoy  more  of  the  favour 
of  God,  more  of  the  presence  of  the  Saviour, 
more  of  the  sealing  of  the  ever-blessed  Spirit ! 
0  for  more  of  a  calm  approving  conscience,  and 
more  of  the  delightful  influence  of  the  peace- 
speaking  blood  of  Jesus  Christ.  From  some 
cause  or  other  I  begin  this  year  with  a  trem- 
bling heart.  I  fear  I  may  lose  my  way.  I  am 
afraid  lest  I  should  turn  aside  from  the  straight 
path;  lest  I  may  repose  in  the  bower  of  indo- 
lence and  ease;  lest  I  may  sleep  on  enchanted 
ground;  lest  I  should  be  ensnared  if  not  de- 
stroyed by  an  unhallowed  curiosity;  lest  I 
should  be  betrayed  by  my  own  presumption  and 
self-confidence.  I  can  remember  some,  who 
have  forsaken  the  way  and  fallen  into  snares, 
and  the  sad  memorials  of  their  folly  are  strewed 
along  my  path.  Why  should  I  hope  to  pass 
unwatched  or  unmolested?  The  enemy  is  not 
asleep.  Many  a  time  have  I  been  baffled  by  his 
artifices.  Rest  where  I  will,  and  rise  when  I 
may,  he  is  always  at  my  side.  And  shall  I 
dream  of  peace?  Shall  I  not  watch  and  pray? 
9*  ' 


98         REFLECTIONS  ON  THE  NEW  YEAR. 

Will  not  presumption  and  sloth  cost  me  dear? 
Blessed  God,  hold  thou  me  up  and  I  shall  be 
safe.  Pity  thy  erring  creature;  forgive  thy 
wandering  child.  Keep,  and  with  the  bounties 
of  thy  grace  bless  thy  poor  suppliant.  Preserve 
him  another  year.  Let  him  not  be  conformed 
to  this  world.  Give  him  a  warm  and  humble 
heart.  Let  nothing  interrupt  or  retard  his 
progress  toward  the  Zion  above. 

I  would  live  another  year  if  it  be  my  Heavenly 
Father's  will;  and  yet  I  would  not  live  to  sin, 
and  fall  and  reproach  my  Saviour  and  his 
blessed  cause.  Better  die  than  live  to  no  good 
purpose.  I  would  live  till  my  work  is  done — 
cheerful  when  it  is  most  arduous,  and  grateful 
for  strength  according  to  my  day.  But  I  would 
not  be  afraid  to  die.  Shall  the  child  desire  to 
be  away  from  his  Father's  house?  Shall  the 
traveller,  already  weary,  choose  to  have  his  stay 
in  the  wilderness  prolonged?  It  were  a  sad 
sight  to  see  a  Christian  die  with  regret — to  see 
him  go  home  as  if  he  were  going  to  a  prison. 
0  let  me  think  much  and  often  of  my  heavenly 
home! 

Jerusalem,  my  happy  home, 

Name  ever  dear  to  me  ! 
When  shall  my  labours  have  an  end, 

In  joy,  and  peace,  and  thee? 


KEFLECTIONS  ON  THE  NEW  YEAR. 


99 


Jerusalem,  my  liappy  home, 

My  soul  still  pants  for  thee ; 
Then  shall  my  labours  have  an  end, 

When  I  thy  joys  shall  see." 

Let  me,  then,  often  climb  the  mount  of  con- 
templation, and  prayer,  and  praise,  and  there 
try  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  glory  to  be  re- 
vealed, and  get  my  cold  heart  affected  with  a 
view  of  its  yet  distant  endearments.  Love  to 
God,  communion  with  God,  devotedness  to  God, 
these  are  the  foretastes  of  heaven.  If,  through 
the  cares  and  duties  of  secular  life,  I  cannot  pre- 
serve an  invariable  tendency  of  mind  toward 
that  holy  world,  let  it  be  a  more  habitual  and 
frequent  tendency.  I  feel  the  sorrows  of  this 
guilty  insensibility,  this  languor  of  spiritual 
affection,  and  long  for  those  hallowed  moments 
when  the  meltings  of  contrition,  the  fervours  of 
desire,  the  vividness  of  faith,  and  the  hope  full 
of  immortality,  shall  shed  their  sacred  fragrance 
over  my  spirit,  and  make  me  pant  for  heaven. 
Nor  let  it  be  a  transient  emotion,  kindled  by 
some  momentary  excitement,  or  awakened  by 
some  impulse  of  the  imagination,  but  marked  by 
all  the  ardour  of  passion,  and  all  the  constancy 
of  principle. 

Spirit  of  the  Redeemer,  shed  abroad  thine 
own  love  in  this  poor  heart  of  mine,  and  thus 


100       REFLECTIONS  ON  THE  NEW  YEAR. 

seal  to  the  day  of  eternal  redemption !  Let  me 
greet  every  truth,  every  providence,  every  medi- 
tation that  shall  invite  me  to  more  intimate 
intercourse  with  heaven.  Let  me  dwell  upon 
the  communications  sent  down  from  that  blessed 
world  to  cheer  my  fainting  spirit,  and  revive  my 
courage  by  the  way.  Let  me  welcome  those 
messages  of  Divine  Providence  that  are  designed 
and  adapted  to  intercept  my  constant  view  of 
earth,  and  bring  the  realities  of  eternity  near. 
Let  me  grieve  at  nothing  that  makes  me  familiar 
with  heaven.  Let  me  never  mourn  when  some 
little  stream  of  comfort  and  joy  is  dried  up,  and 
I  am  driven  more  directly  to  the  fountain.  Let 
me  take  a  fresh  departure  for  the  land  of  pro- 
mise from  the  beginning  of  this  new  year.  I 
would  fain  look  upward  with  a  more  steadfast 
eye,  and  march  onward  with  a  firmer  step. 
Nor  would  I  lose  sight  of  the  cloud  by  day,  and 
the  pillar  of  fire  by  night,  but  go  where  it  goes, 
and  rest  where  it  rests. 

And  who — who  will  remain  behind  ?  Who  will 
be  content  to  have  his  hopes  bounded  by  the 
narrow  scenes  of  earth?  Go  up,  fellow-traveller 
to  eternity;  go  up  to  some  selected  eminence  of 
thought,  where  the  splendours  of  the  holy  city 
shall  break  upon  your  view.  This  world  is  not 
your  home  any  more  than  mine.    It  cannot 


SOMETHING  NEW  FOR  THE  NEW  YEAR.  101 

comfort  you  more  than  it  has  comforted  me. 
You  may  be  called  away  from  all  its  scenes  as 
soon  as  1.  Your  journey  to  the  grave  may  be 
shorter  even  than  mine.  Nay,  this  year  thou 
may  est  die! 

■♦  


SOMETHING  NEW  FOR  THE  NEW 
YEAR. 

"all  the  ATHENIANS  AND  STRANGERS  WHICH  WERE  THERE, 
SPENT  THEIR  TIME  IN  NOTHING  ELSE,  BUT  EITHER  TO  TELL, 
OR  TO  HEAR  SOME  NEW  THING." 

The  curious  disposition  of  the  Athenians  has 
been  generally  considered  as  a  matter  of  re- 
proach— but  unjustly,  I  think,  except  in  the 
excess  to  which  it  was  carried.  They  did  no- 
thing else !  Curiosity  has  often  been  the  means 
of  introducing  the  gospel,  with  good  effect,  into 
new  places;  and  in  the  instance  above  cited, 
though  some  mocked,  others  clave  unto  the 
preacher,  the  Apostle  Paul;  among  whom  was 
Dionysius,  the  Areopagite,  and  aftewards  an 
eminent  apologist  for  Christianity,  and  a  woman 
named  Damaris,  and  others  with  them.  A  spirit 
of  inquiry  is  always  friendly  to  religion,  when 


102 


SOMETHING  NEW  FOR 


properly  conducted.  The  hearers  commended 
in  the  New  Testament  are  not  those  who  re- 
ceived the  doctrine  of  the  Apostles  without  hesi- 
tation or  examination,  but  those  who  searched 
the  Scriptures  daily  to  see  if  these  were  so. 
For  this  reason  the  believers  at  Berea  were  more 
noble  than  those  of  Thessalonica. 

The  decrees  of  councils  and  of  synods  may 
perish  in  the  furnace,  but  divine  truth  will  stand 
the  fire  like  gold.  The  want  of  curiosity  to 
examine  has  often  proved  the  greatest  obstacle 
to  the  introduction  of  the  gospel.  Faith  comes 
by  hearing*  and  if  men  will  not  hear,  how  shall 
they  believe?  It  is  the  supposed  novelty  of 
the  gospel  which  often  gains  the  first  attention ; 
and  when  it  is  preached  with  fervour  and  afi'ec- 
tion,  it  seldom  fails  to  excite  wonder  and  admi- 
ration. Its  tidings  are  ever  fresh  and  ever  new. 
To  the  reader,  however,  I  do  not  mean  to  recom- 
mend the  gospel  as  a  novelty,  but  I  have  some 
new  things  to  suggest  at  the  commencement  of 
a  new  year,  which  I  hope  will  be  well  and 
prayerfully  considered. 

1.  Let  us  inquire  what  new  providences  at 
this  period  particularly  call  upon  us  for  praise 
and  prayer.  In  public  life  ask.  What  new  thing 
God  has  done  to  our  country,  and  the  world? 
What  new  calamities  he  has  removed,  what  new 


THE  NEW  YEAR. 


103 


dangers  he  has  delivered  us  from?  What  new 
favours  he  has  conferred,  and  new  blessings 
bestowed  ?  In  private  life  also,  Which  of  us  has 
not  experienced  new  providences  calling  upon 
us  for  gratitude  or  humiliation  ?    But  I  leave  a 

blank  let  the  reader  fill  it  up  from  his 

own  circumstances  and  experience. 

2.  What  news  have  we  received  respecting 
the  propagation  of  the  gospel  at  home  and 
abroad?  At  home,  into  what  new  places  has 
the  gospel  been  introduced?  Where  has  it  been 
revived  when  languishing?  Where  is  it  now 
calling  for  assistance  and  support?  What  news 
have  we  from  abroad?  Do  the  poor  benighted 
heathen  cast  away  their  idols,  and  renounce 
their  caste,  to  receive  the  gospel?  Do  Moham- 
medans exchange  their  Koran  for  the  Bible  ?  Do 
the  Jews  at  last  begin  to  look  upon  Him  whom 
they  have  pierced,  and  receive  him  as  the  true 
Messiah  ?  Do  the  errors  and  corruptions  that 
have  been  incorporated  with  Christianity  for  so 
long  a  time  in  the  Greek  and  Romish  churches 
begin  to  be  dissolved  and  disappear  before  the 
brightness  of  Christ's  coming,  and  the  power  of 
his  Spirit.  Is  there  nothing  new  from  the 
land  of  Luther,  and  of  the  Reformation?  Are 
there  no  signs  of  their  turning  to  the  Lord, 


104     SOMETHING  NEW  EOR  THE  NEW  YEAR. 

to  worship  him  in  the  faith  and  spirit  of  the 
gospel  ? 

^  3.  What  new  plans  of  benevolence  and  public 
utility  have  been  lately  started  ?  Sunday-schools 
may  have  lost  their  novelty,  though  by  no  means 
their  usefulness.    Education  is  becoming  more 
general ;  the  children  of  the  poor  as  well  as  the 
rich,  enjoy  its  benefits.    What  new  incitements 
and  new  attractions  are  held  out  to  induce  chil- 
dren to  come  to  the  Sunday-school  ?   The  Bible, 
the  Missionary  and  the  Tract  Societies  are  tra- 
velling hand  in  hand  through  the  world.  Many 
are  running  to  and  fro,  and  knowledge  is  increas- 
ing.   May  we  not  hope  that  the  period  is  not 
very  distant  when  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord 
shall  cover  the  earth  as  the  waters  do  the  sea. 
At  least,  we  ought  to  pray  for  its  approach  and 
labour  to  hasten  it  in  its  time.    To  a  kingdom 
founded  upon  truth,  and  to  be  filled  with  know- 
ledge, the  increase  of  literature  and  science 
(truly  so  called)  must  in  every  department  be 
advantageous.    Let  the  Prince  of  this  world 
bind  his  subjects  in  chains  of  darkness  as  he  is 
bound.    Christianity  is  a  system  of  light  and 
liberty,  and  its  children  love  the  light,  and 
rejoice  to  see  its  beams,  whether  they  shine  upon 
the  domes  of  its  temples,  the  walls  of  its  acade- 
mies, or  the  cottages  of  its  poorest  population. 


A  new-year's  gift. 


105 


While  I  have  commended  the  Athenians  for 
their  curiosity  in  their  inquiries  after  novelty, 
I  would  not  reccommend  my  reader  to  do  no- 
thing else.  Inquiry  should  be  the  spring  of 
action;  and  after  learning  what  is  done,  and 
what  is  doing,  the  next  question  should  be, 
What  shall  we  do?  Is  the  temple  of  the  Lord 
building  ?  Are  the  walls  of  Zion  being  repaired  ? 
0,  give  me  a  trowel,  that  I  may  lay  a  brick  or 
stone.  Let  every  man  build  before  his  own 
house.  If  I  cannot  build,  let  me  assist  and 
encourage  the  builders;  or  if  I  can  do  nothing 
else,  let  me  at  least  join  in  the  general  shout,  as 
it  progresses — Grace !  grace  unto  it ! 


A  NEW-YEAR'S  GIFT. 

Thanks  be  unto  god  for  his  unspeakable  Gift. — 2  Cor.  ix.  15. 

The  new  year  has  been  generally  regarded  as 
a  proper  season  for  giving.  In  some  places  a 
valuable  improvement  is  made  by  using  it  also 
as  a  season  of  forgiving,  A  custom  of  calling 
indiscriminately  at  each  other's  houses,  without 
ceremony,  on  a  New-Year's  day,  affords  an 
opportunity  to  persons  who  have  taken  mutual 
offence,  so  as  to  produce  a  temporary  alienation, 
10 


106 


A  new-year's  gift. 


to  put  an  end  to  it  by  exchanging  visits  at  that 
season.  I  have  known  many  disagreements 
thus  terminated,  and  the  fact  may  suggest  to 
some  persons  a  profitable  hint.  But  whether 
giving  or  forgiving  be  the  subject,  the  text  here 
prefixed  affords  the  most  powerful  motives  to  a 
suitable  improvement  of  the  season.  "Thanks 
be  unto  God  for  his  unspeakable  gift." 

It  includes  the  essence  of  all  evangelical  truth, 
and  the  sum  and  substance  of  all  spiritual  graces. 
A  gift  is  a  totally  difi^erent  thing  from  a  bargain. 
To  be  generous  in  the  one,  we  must  be  careful 
in  the  other.  I  remember  once  reading  of  a  new- 
made  doctor  of  divinity  in  the  University  pul- 
pit at  Cambridge,  who  assured  his  audience  that 
by  giving  to  Addenbroke's  hospital,  they  would 
secure  to  themselves  eternal  life.  The  assembly 
was  splendid;  it  was  the  elite  of  the  realm; 
heads  of  houses,  noblemen  and  gentlemen,  com- 
moners— gown,  town,  and  country  had  contri- 
buted their  prime  at  the  commencement  of  a  term, 
attracted  by  the  sweetest  charms  of  vocal  and 
instrumental  harmony.  I  felt,  therefore,  some 
curiosity  to  know  what  a  congregation  so  able, 
had  been  willing  to  sacrifice  to  the  preacher's 
earnest  appeal,  and  I  ascertained  that  it  was 
under  £5.  Neither  did  this  greatly  excite  my 
wonder.    The  doctor  had  not  ventured  to  fix 


A  NEW  year's  gift. 


107 


the  minimum  price  of  eternal  life,  and  hh  cus- 
tomers wished  to  make  the  cheapest  bargain 
possible. 

No,  no,  my  friends;  you  dare  not  bargain 
with  God,  either  for  spiritual  or  temporal 
blessings.  You  know  that  whatever  he  bestows 
upon  you  is  an  unmerited  gift.  But  beware  in 
your  benefactions  against  bargaining  with  fel- 
low-creatures. Seek  not  reputation.  Expect 
not  returns  of  gratitude.  Do  all  things  heartily 
and  of  good-will,  as  to  the  Lord,  and  not  to  men. 
In  all  our  contributions  to  benevolent  objects, 
and  our  liberality  to  the  poor,  we  are  not  there- 
by to  purchase  eternal  life.  Perish  all  such  gifts 
as  the  ground  of  acceptance  with  God !  They 
are  to  be  regarded  as  the  fruit  and  evidence  of 
faith  in  Christ.  This  liberality,  springing  from 
divine  grace  in  our  hearts,  will  relieve  the  wants 
and  excite  the  gratitude  of  the  poor  saints;  it 
will  glorify  God  the  giver  of  all  good;  it  will 
adorn  and  recommend  the  gospel  of  Christ;  and 
through  the  prayers  of  the  suffering  saints  thus 
relieved,  the  abundant  blessings  of  Heaven  will 
descend  on  our  souls.  But  let  us  ever  keep  in 
view  that  our  kindness  to  the  poor  bears  no 
conceivable  proportion  to  the  kindness  of  God 
in  giving  his  beloved  Son  for  our  redemption. 
"Thanks  be  unto  God  for  his  unspeakable  gift." 


108 


A  new-year's  gift. 


Contemplate  first  the  gift  of  God,  and  secondly 
the  duty  of  man.  Here  mark  the  nature  of  the 
gift  of  God;  it  is  the  gift  of  his  beloved  Son. 
Jesus  Christ  is  emphatically  the  gift  of  God. 
The  prophets  foretold  him  as  such.  "Unto  us  a 
child  is  born,  unto  us  a  son  is  given."  As  the 
Son  of  man,  Jesus  was  born;  but  as  the  Son  of 
God,  he  was  given.  Jesus  describes  himself  as 
such.  "  God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his 
only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  on 
him  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life.'' 
The  apostles  announce  Jesus  as  the  gift  of  God, 
and  declare  that  he  is  given  as  the  only  Sa- 
viour. Neither  is  there  salvation  in  any  other, 
for  there  is  none  other  name  under  heaven  given 
among  men  whereby  we  must  be  saved.  The 
apostles  further  declare  the  Jesus  is  given  as 
the  Author  of  eternal  life,  and  this  life  is  in  his 
Son.  "  He  that  hath  the  Son,  hath  life;  and  he 
that  hath  not  the  Son  of  God,  hath  not  life." 
"For  the  gift  of  God  is  eternal  life  through  Jesus 
Christ  our  Lord."  In  a  word,  Jesus  is  that  gift 
of  God,  which  insures  and  includes  all  other 
gifts.  He  that  spared  not  his  own  Son,  but 
gave  him  up  for  us  all,  how  shall  he  not  also 
with  him  freely  give  us  all  things  to  enjoy. 

Mark,  next,  the  excellence  of  the  gift  of  God. 
It  is  unspeakable — it  is  unspeakable  in  its  source, 


A  new-year's  gift. 


109 


in  its  value,  in  its  character,  in  its  application, 
and  in  its  effects. 

Its  source  is  unspeakable.  This  source  is  the 
love  of  God.  Herein  is  love,  not  that  we  loved 
God,  but  that  he  loved  us,  and  sent  his  Son  to 
be  the  propitiation  for  our  sins."  Jesus  is  the 
gift  of  Divine  Love.  Who  can  tell  why  God 
hath  loved?  Who  can  calculate  how  God  hath 
loved  us?  or  who  can  comprehend  the  beginning 
or  the  end  of  the  love  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus? 
Who  can  tell  its  duration  or  its  perfections,  its 
tenderness  or  its  strength?  ''For  I  am  per- 
suaded that  neither  death,  nor  life,  nor  angels, 
nor  principalities,  nor  powers,  nor  things  pre- 
sent, nor  things  to  come,  nor  height,  nor  depth, 
nor  any  other  creature,  shall  be  able  to  separate 
us  from  the  love  of  God  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus 
our  Lord."  In  creation,  the  love  of  God  may 
in  some  sort  be  measured,  and  in  providence  the 
love  of  God  in  some  degree  may  be  estimated; 
but  the  love  of  God  in  redemption  surpasses  all 
calculation — it  is  infinite,  inconceivable,  unspeak- 
able !  God  is  love,  infinite  and  perfect  love ; 
this  love  is  manifested  only  in  the  redemption 
of  sinners.  In  this  was  manifested  the  love  of 
God,  as  if  it  never  had  been  manifested  in  any- 
thing else  before.  In  this  was  manifested  the 
love  of  God  toward  us  because  that  God  sent 
10* 


110 


A  new-year's  gift. 


his  only  begotten  Son  into  the  world  that  we 
might  live  through  him.  Angels,  who  always 
view  the  face  of  our  Heavenly  Father,  stoop 
from  their  throne  in  glory  to  contemplate  and 
to  adore  the  manifestation  of  redeeming  love  in 
Christ  crucified. 

Its  value  is  unspeakable.  To  form  some  faint 
idea  of  the  value  of  this  gift,  consider  the  di- 
vinity of  the  Redeemer's  person,  and  the  depth 
of  his  sufferings.  Jesus  Christ  is  truly  and  eter- 
nally God;  he  wears  all  the  names  of  God;  he 
possesses  all  the  attributes  of  God ;  he  performs 
all  the  works  of  God ;  he  receives  all  the  wor- 
ship of  God;  he  is  the  Maker,  Preserver,  Re- 
deemer, and  Judge  of  the  world;  he  is  the 
brightness  of  his  Father's  glory,  and  the  express 
image  of  his  person;  he  is  the  King  of  kings, 
and  Lord  of  lords;  he  is  the  King  of  saints,  and 
the  King  of  glory ;  he  is  the  fellow  and  the 
equal  of  God;  he  is  the  true  and  the  eternal 
God — God  over  all,  blessed  for  ever !  Men  are 
commanded  to  honour  him  as  they  honour  the 
Father;  and  when  he  bringeth  his  first-begotten 
into  the  world,  the  Father  himself  saith,  ^'Let 
all  the  angels  of  God  worship  him."  Jesus  was 
truly  God,  but  Jesus  became  truly  man;  he 
grew  up  as  a  tender  plant  out  of  a  dry  ground; 
he  was  born  in  a  stable,  and  laid  in  a  manger; 


A  new-year's  gift.  Ill 

he  passed  through  the  helplessness  of  infancy, 
the  infirmities  of  childhood,  and  the  labours  of 
youth,  and  when  arrived  at  manhood,  he  had 
not  a  place  where  to  lay  his  head.  He  was  a 
man  of  sorrows  and  acquainted  with  grief. 
Through  life  he  was  despised  and  persecuted. 
At  death  he  experienced  every  kind  of  distress. 
Satan  troubled  him,  men  crucified  him,  God  for- 
sook him.  His  agony  in  the  garden  was  tre- 
mendous ;  and  while  his  soul,  under  the  burden 
of  our  sins,  was  sorrowful  even  unto  death,  his 
body  sweat  great  drops  of  blood.  One  disciple 
betrayed  him,  another  denied  him — all,  in  the 
time  of  need,  forsook  him.  He  was  bound  as  a 
thief;  led  away  as  a  malefactor;  false  witnesses 
swore  away  his  life.  His  judge  pronounced  him 
innocent,  and  then,  with  marvellous  inconsist- 
ency, sentenced  him  to  die.  His  cheek  was 
smitten  with  rods;  his  face  was  spit  upon;  his 
temples  were  pierced  with  the  crown  of  thorns; 
his  back  was  ploughed  with  scourges ;  his  hands 
and  feet  were  fixed  with  iron  spikes  to  the  cross; 
he  was  raised  on  high,  a  spectacle  for  the  astonish- 
ment of  angels  and  for  the  unfeeling  gaze  of 
cruel  men.  His  burning  thirst  was  tantalized 
with  vinegar  and  gall;  his  last  prayers  were 
turned  into  ridicule,  and  his  dying  groans  were 
converted  into  mockery.    His  soul,  in  the  last 


112 


A  new-yeak's  gift. 


extremity  of  anguish,  was  deprived  of  the  re- 
freshing presence  of  his  Heavenly  Father.  What 
mind  can  conceive  the  meaning,  or  what  tongue 
can  rightly  utter  the  words  of  that  bitter  cry, 
^'My  God!  my  God!  why  hast  thou  forsaken 
me?" 

Let  any  man  now  attempt  to  reach  the 
grandeur  of  the  Redeemer's  person;  let  him 
afterwards  endeavour  to  fathom  the  depth  of 
our  Lord's  sufferings;  let  him  then  strive  to 
unite  and  combine  these  two  conceptions — a 
sufferer  so  infinitely  great  and  holy,  and  suffer- 
ings so  inconceivably  varied  and  tormenting — 
and  he  will  find  that  no  created  mind  can  em- 
brace a  subject  so  vast;  that  neither  human  nor 
angelic  powers  can  estimate  the  value  of  the  gift 
of  God  in  sending  his  beloved  Son  to  die  for 
sinful  men.  Overwhelmed  with  such  views  of 
Divine  love,  and  sinking  in  the  effort  to  compre- 
hend them,  we  can  only  exclaim,  "Thanks  be 
unto  God  for  his  unspeakable  gift!'' 

Its  character  is  unspeakable.  All  wisdom, 
mysteries,  and  blessings  unite  in  Christ  cruci- 
fied. Who  can  declare  his  generation?  Who 
can  comprehend  his  incarnation  ?  Who  can  un- 
derstand the  wonders  of  his  person,  or  tell  the 
preciousness  of  his  atonement,  the  perfection  of 
his  righteousness,  or  the  prevalency  of  his  inter- 


A  new-year's  gift. 


113 


cession?  From  everlasting  to  everlasting,  yet 
born  in  time;  dwelling  in  heaven,  yet  abiding 
on  earth;  truly  God,  yet  truly  man;  in  himself 
the  most  holy,  yet  by  imputation  the  chief  of 
sinners;  honouring  and  magnifying  the  law  of 
God  in  every  part,  yet  degraded  and  punished 
as  if  he  had  despised  all  its  authority  and  broken 
all  its  commands;  the  fairest  of  ten  thousand, 
yet  without  form  and  comeliness;  full  of  grace 
and  truth,  yet  oppressed  by  violence,  condemned 
by  falsehoods;  crowned  with  glory,  yet  covered 
with  shame;  the  only  beloved  of  the  Father,  yet 
suffering  the  wrath  of  God;  the  Prince  of  life, 
yet  dying  on  the  cross;  the  Author  of  all  good- 
ness, the  fountain  of  all  glory,  and  the  source  of 
all  power,  yet  expiring  on  the  accursed  tree;  as 
most  weak,  wicked,  and  wretched  of  mankind, 
dying  between  two  thieves,  yet  giving  a  throne 
in  paradise;  sinking  into  the  tomb,  yet  opening 
the  kingdom  of  heaven  for  all  believers;  rising 
when  he  fell ;  conquering  when  he  seemed  over- 
come; destroying  death,  even  when  he  died; 
was  buried  and  sealed  in  the  sepulchre,  yet  burst- 
ing the  bands  of  death,  and  uttering  as  he  rose, 
the  triumphant  shout,  ''0  death,  where  is  thy 
sting?  0  grave,  where  is  thy  victory?*' 

Besides,  Jesus  Christ  displayed,  in  full  exer- 
cise and  in  perfect  harmony,  all  the  attributes 


114 


A  new-year's  gift. 


of  the  Godhead — justice  in  punishing  the  of- 
fence; mercy  in  pardoning  the  offender;  holi- 
ness in  honouring  the  law;  truth  in  fulfilling  the 
promises;  infinite  wisdom  and  infinite  love,  in 
reconciling  God  and  man — all  appear  in  Christ 
crucified,  the  gift  of  God.  But  who  can  describe 
a  character  so  various,  and  yet  so  harmonious; 
so  condescendingly  merciful,  yet  so  truly  awful; 
so  full  of  mysteries,  yet  so  full  of  truth ;  so  de- 
claratory of  the  glory  of  God,  yet  so  conducive 
to  the  everlasting  welfare  of  mankind?  So  many 
and  such  bright  rays  of  majesty  and  mercy  meet 
in  the  gift  of  God,  that  no  eye  can  endure  its 
splendour,  no  tongue  can  tell  its  glory — it  is 
unspeakable! 

Its  application  is  unspeakable.  The  gift  is  so 
great  and  so  precious,  so  suitable  to  the  state, 
and  so  sufiicient  for  the  wants  of  man,  that  it  is 
marvellous  that  men  do  not  desire  to  receive  it. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  natural  heart  of  man  is 
so  corrupt,  so  contrary  to  holiness,  so  fond  of 
earthly  things,  and  so  full  of  enmity  against 
God,  that  it  is  equally  marvellous  if  any  sinner 
do  receive  the  gift.  But  some  do  obtain  it.  It 
is  effectually  applied  to  the  sinner ;  its  applica- 
tion is  free.  Jesus  invites  all,  and  casts  out 
non'e.  Jesus  is  the  fountain  of  happiness,  and 
he  loudly  cries  to  all,  ''If  any  man  thirst,  let 


A  new-year's  gift. 


115 


him  come  to  me  and  drink."  Jesus  tasted  death 
for  every  man.  His  blood  cleanseth  from  all 
sin.  He  is  able  to  save  to  the  uttermost  all  that 
come  unto  God  by  him;  yet  Jesus  saves  freely, 
not  for  goodness  or  merits,  but  according  to  his 
mercy  and  grace. 

Its  application  is  spiritual.  Though  oflFered 
to  all  freely,  the  Holy  Spirit  alone  can  effec- 
tually apply  the  gift  of  God.  Of  ourselves  we 
can  neither  feel  the  need,  nor  know  the  value, 
nor  desire  the  application  of  the  salvation  of 
Jesus  Christ:  all  this  is  the  work  of  the  Spirit, 
"The  Spirit  of  truth,"  says  Christ,  "shall  re- 
ceive of  mine  and  show  it  unto  you."  They 
who  receive  Christ  become  the  sons  of  God,  and 
the  sons  of  God  are  all  born  of  the  Spirit;  for, 
"Except  a  man  be  born  of  the  Spirit,  he  cannot 
enter  the  kingdom  of  God."  "As  many  as  re- 
ceived him,  to  them  gave  he  power  to  become 
the  sons  of  God;  which  were  born  not  of  blood, 
nor  of  the  will  of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of 
man,  but  of  God."  Its  application  is  incompre- 
hensible; for  in  what  manner  the  Holy  Spirit 
operates  on  the  soul  of  man,  and  renews  him  in 
the  image  of  God — in  what  mode  he  first  shows 
to  the  sinner  the  need  of  a  Saviour,  and  then 
enables  the  penitent  to  lay  hold  on  Christ  Jesus, 
we  know  not.    "The  wind  bloweth  where  it 


116 


A  new-year's  gift. 


listeth,  and  thou  hearest  the  sound  thereof,  but 
canst  not  tell  whence  it  cometh,  nor  whither  it 
goeth;  so  is  every  one  that  is  born  of  the 
Spirit."  But  though  the  Spirit  worketh  in 
secret,  he  works  with  power.  He  can  effect  in 
an  instant  what  no  human  reason  nor  mortal 
eloquence  effect.  He  can  suddenly  break  Into 
the  iron  heart  of  a  gaoler,  and  force  him  to  cry, 
"Sirs,  what  must  I  do  to  be  saved?"  He  can 
gently  open  the  devout  heart  of  a  Lydia,  and 
she  will  listen  with  faith  and  joy  to  the  preach- 
ing of  Christ  crucified.  He  can  gradually 
reveal  Jesus  to  the  humble  inquirer  as  the  pearl 
of  great  price,  and  make  him  part  with  all  to 
procure  the  Saviour. 

Sometimes  the  influence  of  the  Spirit,  like  a 
flash  of  lightning,  darts  instantaneous  conviction 
on  a  careless  soul;  at  other  times,  like  the 
early  dawn  of  the  morning,  it  gradually  dis- 
perses nature's  darkness,  and  increases  unto 
the  perfect  day.  Sometimes,  like  a  hammer,  it 
breaks  the  rocky  heart  to  pieces;  at  others,  it 
descends  like  the  dew,  and  gently  melts  the 
heart  into  penitence,  and  gradually  moulds  it 
into  the  image  of  God.  Sometimes,  like  a 
sword,  it  pierces  through  the  inmost  soul;  at 
others,  like  the  balm  of  heaven,  it  soothes  the 
troubled  breast,  and  heals  the  wounded  heart. 


A  new-tear's  gift. 


IIT 


But  all  these  worketh  that  one  and  the  selfsame 
Spirit,  dividing  to  every  man  severally  as  he  will. 
How  the  Spirit  works  we  cannot  tell;  but  this 
we  can  boldly  declare,  that  no  man  can  say  that 
Jesus  is  the  Lord  but  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  We 
know  not  how  the  tree  is  made  fruitful,  but  we 
can  see  the  fruit  hanging  on  the  branches.  We 
know  not  how  the  Spirit  applies  the  blood  of 
Christ  to  the  conscience,  or  forms  the  image  of 
Christ  in  the  heart;  but  we  can  see  the  fruits  of 
the  Spirit  and  of  righteousness  in  the  temper, 
conversation,  and  conduct.    On  the  whole,  as  to 
this  point,  the  gift  of  God  is  freely  offered  to  all, 
and  all,  on  the  peril  of  eternal  ruin,  are  com- 
manded to  receive  it;  but  why  some  receive  and 
others  reject  it,  why  the  gospel  is  to  some  a 
savour  of  life  unto  life,  and  to  others  a  savour 
of  death  unto  death,  we  can  neither  explain  nor 
comprehend.    This,  however,  is  not  an  opinion, 
but  a  fact;  and  all  attempts  to  explain  this 
momentous  fact,  if  not  positively  injurious,  will 
certainly  be  in  vain.    It  is  unspeakable— "  0 
the  depth  of  the  riches  both  of  the  wisdom  and 
knowledge  of  God!  how  unsearchable  are  his 
judgments,  and  his  ways  past  finding  out!" 

Finally,  its  effects  are  unspeakable.     If  we 
receive  the  unspeakable  gift,  if  by  faith  we  are 
partakers  of  Jesus  Christ,  we  shall  be  delivered 
11 


118  A  NEW-YEAR*S  GIFT. 

from  the  ruins  of  the  fall,  from  the  misery  of 
sin,  and  from  the  bitter  pains  of  eternal  death ; 
and  unless  we  can  count  the  countless  ages  of 
eternity,  and  describe  the  indescribable  torments 
of  never-ending  punishment,  this  deliverance 
must  be  unspeakable.    If  we  are  partakers  of 
Christ,  we  shall  be  partakers  of  a  divine  nature, 
our  minds  will  be  enlightened,  our  hearts  re- 
newed, our  tempers   sanctified,   our  conduct 
reformed  and  holy,  we  shall  be  pardoned  and 
justified ;  we  shall  have  that  peace  which  pass- 
eth  all  understanding,  that  joy  which  is  unut- 
terable, and  that  peace  which  is  full  of  glory. 
The  gift  of  God  will  enrich  us  and  bless  us 
through  all  time  and  through  all  eternity;  it  will 
be  to  us  our  light  in  darkness,  our  treasure  in 
poverty,  our  comfort  in  sorrow,  our  friend  in 
adversity,  our  protection  in  persecution,  our 
support  in  sickness,  our  life  in  death,  our  song, 
our  glory,  and  our  crown  in  heaven.    Its  effects 
on  earth  and  in  the  soul  are  described  by  the 
most  sublime  acts  of  Omnipotence — by  creation, 
for  ye  are  created  anew  in  Christ  Jesus — by  the 
resurrection,  for  ye  are  risen  in  Christ.  Surely 
a  gift  which  produces  such  blessed  effects,  which 
is  illustrated  in  its  operations  by  the  mightiest 
acts  of  infinite  power,  must  be  an  unspeakable 
gift.    If  we  receive  it  now,  we  shall  receive 


A  new-year's  gift. 


119 


eternal  life  hereafter.  Grace  and  truth  always 
come  with  Jesus  Christ.  If  we  receive  his  grace, 
we  receive  an  infallible  pledge  of  his  glory. 
His  grace  will  make  us  meet  for  those  pleasures 
which  are  at  God's  right  hand,  and  put  us  in 
possession  of  the  everlasting  inheritance  re- 
served for  the  saints  in  heaven ;  but  eye  hath 
not  seen  nor  ear  heard,  nor  hath  it  entered  into 
the  heart  of  man  to  conceive  the  things  which 
God  hath  prepared  for  them  that  love  him  and 
receive  his  Son.  Surely  then,  a  gift  which  in- 
sures a  glory  which  never  fades,  and  leads  to 
a  happiness  which  no  mind  can  conceive,  no 
tongue  can  utter,  must  be  an  unspeakable  gift. 
Weak  must  be  every  effort  to  illustrate  this 
astonishing  subject.  For  what  mind  can  com- 
prehend that  which  has  no  bounds?  What 
imagination  explore  the  unsearchable  riches  of 
Christ?  What  tongue  express  that  which  is 
unspeakable?  In  whatever  single  aspect  we 
view  this  gift — in  its  source  or  value,  in  its 
character,  application,  or  effects — it  is  vast,  glo- 
rious, and  unspeakable.  When  we  combine 
the  various  rays  of  its  excellency,  we  are 
oppressed  with  its  majesty  and  overwhelmed 
with  its  glory,  and  feeling  more  than  saints  or 
angels  can  utter,  we  fall  down  and  adoringly 
cry,    Thanks  be  unto  God  for  his  unspeakable 


120 


A  new-year's  gift. 


gift!''  The  Church  below  and  the  Church 
above,  the  saints  on  earth  and  the  saints  in 
heaven,  unite  in  this  bright  song  of  thanksgiv- 
ing; and  could  we  sing  "Thanks  be  unto  God 
for  his  unspeakable  gift"  loud  enough  to  be 
heard  in  heaven,  the  saints  before  the  throne 
with  triumph  would  thunder  back  the  song, 
"Thanks  be  unto  God  for  his  unspeakable  gift!" 

What  then,  in  view  of  all  this,  is  the  duty  of 
man?  It  is  to  thank  God  for  the  gift  of  his 
Son — "Thanks  be  to  God  for  his  unspeakable 
gift."  Let  us  thank  God  with  the  gratitude  of 
our  hearts.  Jesus  Christ  brings  with  him  a 
pardon  for  every  sin,  a  cure  for  every  disease, 
a  deliverance  from  every  enemy,  a  supply  for 
every  want,  a  comfort  for  every  trouble,  a  sup- 
port for  every  trial,  a  title  and  a  meetness  for 
every  temporal  and  for  every  eternal  blessing. 
If,  therefore,  we  have  received  the  gift  of  God ; 
if  we  are  partakers  of  Jesus  Christ;  if  he  has 
pardoned  our  sins,  and  healed  the  diseases  of 
our  souls ;  if  he  delivers  us  from  all  our  spiritual 
enemies,  and  richly  supplies  all  our  wants;  if  he 
comforts  us  in  every  trouble,  guides  us  in  every 
difficulty,  stands  by  us  in  every  danger,  and 
supports  us  in  every  trial ;  if  he  has  given  us 
his  grace,  and  promised  us  his  glory;  if  through 
his  blood  and  merits  we  have  a  title  to  heaven, 


A  N^EW- year's  gift.  121 

and  through  the  operation  of  his  Spirit  we  are 
made  meet  for  his  kingdom;  if  this  be  our 
blessed  experience,  our  hearts  will  feel  more 
gratitude  than  our  lips  can  express.  Bless  the 
Lord,  0  my  soul;  and  all  that  is  within  me, 
bless  his  holy  name.  Bless  the  Lord,  0  my  soul, 
and  forget  not  all  his  benefits:  who  forgiveth  all 
thine  iniquities;  who  healeth  all  thy  diseases; 
who  redeemeth  thy  life  from  destruction;  who 
crowneth  thee  with  loving-kindness  and  tender 
mercies.''  Let  us  thank  God  with  the  praises  of 
our  lips.  Though  no  tongue  can  fully  express 
the  loving-kindness  of  God  in  giving  his  dear 
Son,  yet  every  one  who  is  a  partaker  of  the  un- 
speakable gift  will  devoutly  and  loudly  praise 
the  Lord ;  though  he  cannot  do  what  he  would, 
nor  praise  God  as  he  ought,  he  will  do  what  he 
can;  though  he  cannot  give  utterance  to  the 
grateful  feelings  of  his  heart,  he  will  make  the 
attempt;  he  will  declare  what  God  has  done  for 
his  soul;  he  will  praise  God  in  the  secret  adora- 
tions of  his  Son ;  he  will  praise  him  in  his  family, 
praise  him  in  the  social  circle  with  them  that 
fear  the  Lord,  and  praise  him  wherever  he  goes; 
especially  will  he  praise  God  in  the  public  con- 
gregation. "My  heart  is  fixed,  0  God,  my 
heart  is  fixed;  I  will  sing  and  give  praise. 
Awake  up,  my  glory;  awake,  psaltery  and  harp; 
11* 


122 


A  new-year's  gift. 


I  myself  will  awake  early.  I  will  praise  thee, 
0  Lord,  among  the  people,''  and  magnify  thy 
name.  Thanks  be  to  God  for  his  unspeakable 
gift!"  But  when  the  death  of  Christ  is  by  the 
Church  shown  forth  and  celebrated,  when  the 
believer  is  invited  to  partake  of  the  emblems  of 
the  body  and  blood  of  his  suffering  Lord,  then, 
with  a  heart  swelling  with  gratitude,  and  lips 
overflowing  with  praise,  "Then  will  I  go  unto 
the  altar  of  God,  unto  God  my  exceeding  joy." 
Thanks,  thanks,  thanks  unto  God  for  his  un- 
speakable gift ! 

Let  us  thank  God  by  the  obedience  of  our 
lives.  No  gratitude  of  the  heart,  no  praises  of 
the  tongue,  no  regularity  of  delight  in  the  wor- 
ship of  God  will  avail  without  universal  and  con- 
stant obedience  to  his  holy  laws.  Gratitude 
may  be  the  flame,  prayer  and  praise  may  be  the 
incense,  but  obedience  must  be  the  substance 
and  the  glory  of  the  Christian  sacrifice.  "Behold, 
to  obey  is  better  than  sacrifice,  and  to  hearken 
than  the  fat  of  rams."  When  a  believer  keeps 
the  commands  of  Christ,  he  best  shows  his  love 
to  Christ.  When,  through  faith  in  Christ,  he 
does  justly,  loves  mercy,  and  walks  humbly  with 
God;  when  he  lives  soberly,  righteously,  and 
godly  in  this  present  world,  he  then  offers  the 
best  thanks  to  God  for  his  unspeakable  gift. 


DAILY  THOUGHTS. 


123 


Acts  of  obedience  are  acts  of  thanksgiving. 
Works  of  faith  evidence  our  sincerity  and  recom- 
mend religion.  The  fruits  of  holiness  glorify 
our  God.  Hereby  is  ray  Father  glorified,  when 
ye  bear  much  fruit.  If  ye  then  have  received 
the  gift  of  God,  and  have  tasted  that  Christ  is 
gracious,  if  Christ  be  precious  to  your  souls, 
and  the  love  of  God  be  shed  abroad  in  your 
hearts  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  then  your  hearts  will 
be  grateful,  your  lips  joyful,  and  your  life  obe- 
dient; and  heart,  and  lips,  and  life  will  unite  in 
one  ascription  of  praise — Thanks  be  unto  God 
for  his  unspeakable  gihV 

♦  

DAILY  THOUGHTS 

FOR  THE  FIRST  MONTH  OF  THE  YEAR. 

1.  Begin  the  year  well;  with  enlightened  medi- 
tation, seriousness  and  prayer;  relying  impli- 
citly on  the  care  and  kindness  of  the  God  of  im- 
mutable fidelity  and  love,  and  it  will  proceed 
well  and  end  well.  You  know  not  what  may 
occur  this  year;  but  leave  all  with  Heaven. 
God  will  dispose  everything  wisely  and  for  your 
ultimate  good. 

2.  The  first  Sabbath  in  the  year !    Let  it  be 


121  DAILY  THOUGHTS  TOR  THE 


a  memorable  one.  Let  it  be  one  of  special 
humility,  special  reflection,  special  gratitude  and 
praise.  Be  determined  that  it  shall  not  pass 
away  listlessly  and  unimproved.  Be  resolved 
in  God's  help,  that  a  singular  blessing  shall 
result  from  its  engagements  and  services.  Com- 
mune with  God,  preeminently  believers  at  the 
table  of  the  Lord  this  day,  it  may  give  a  tone 
to  all  the  succeeding  Sabbaths  of  the  y.ear. 

3.  At  the  commencement  of  the  year  let  the 
inquiry  be  searchingly  proposed — How  are  we 
living?  Is  it  in  the  exercise  of  faith — in  the 
spirit  of  holiness,  under  the  influence  of  prayer? 
or  in  the  neglect  of  everything  which  is  spirit- 
ual and  divine — everything  associated  with  our 
happiness  and  salvation  ?  This  is  a  most  grave 
inquiry  for  every  reader;  let  it  be  seriously 
pondered  upon. 

4.  During  this  year,  and  indeed  every  year, 
let  us  confide  implicitly  in  nothing  of  a  sublu- 
nary nature;  if  we  do,  we  shall  indubitably  be 
disappointed,  and  shall  act  with  the  utmost 
weakness  and  folly.  Mutability  is  identified, 
essentially  interwoven,  with  everything  that  is 
terrestrial.  We  can  securely  and  infallibly  de- 
pend on  no  object  but  what  is  heavenly.  Where 
is  your  dependence  fixed  ?  You  are  not  relying, 
are  you,  on  any  of  the  streams  of  earthly  com- 


FIRST  MONTH  OF  THE  YEAR.  125 


fort? — if  SO,  how  greatly  will  you  be  disap- 
pointed! 

5.  This  day,  every  day,  let  me  walk  with 
God  as  Enoch  did,  as  Noah  did,  as  Abraham 
did,  and  the  day — indeed  every  day — will  be 
one  of  pure  affections,  of  elevated  thoughts,  of 
sublime  resolves,  of  holy  desires,  and  heavenly 
communion.  If  you  thus  walk,  dear  reader, 
you  will  partake  of  angels'  food,  and  cherish 
the  angelic  spirit — yes,  and  more,  you  will  pos- 
sess the  temper  of  the  Son  of  God  himself. 

6.  As  the  days  revolve,  do  you  not  feel  how 
great  is  the  weakness  of  man?  That  excellent 
old  writer,  Mr.  Shomer,  observes,  "He  cannot 
carry  his  own  wishes  without  falling  under 
them.  He  cannot  prosper  in  his  designs  with- 
out being  changed  in  the  temper  of  his  mind 
upon  every  success.  If  we  were  to  have  our 
wishes  uniformly  gratified,  we  should  be  ruined." 
Do  you  feel,  reader,  in  this  manner? 

7.  Human  life,  it  cannot  be  too  earnestly 
remembered,  is  too  precious  to  be  trifled  with, 
much  less  frittered  away.  By  multitudes,  how- 
ever, it  is  wantonly  and  criminally  squandered 
without  reflection  and  without  remorse.  A  long 
life  passes  away  with  many  without  any  regard 
to  its  object  and  end;  without  any  improvement 
whatever.    My  soul,  how  is  it  with  thee?  What 


126 


DAILY  THOUGHTS  FOR  THE 


report  does  conscience  furnish  ?  Is  life  properly 
estimated?  Ever  consider  that  its  due  appre- 
ciation is  of  transcendent  importance. 

8.  It  is  a  contemplation  the  most  impressive 
and  wonderful,  that  our  present  existence,  in- 
stead of  being  the  whole  or  the  greater  part  of 
our  duration,  is  in  fact  comparatively  nothing. 
It  is  only  a  drop  when  contrasted  with  the  ocean ; 
a  moment  when  viewed  in  connection  with  eter- 
nity! Our  future  existence  will  be  boundless, 
undefinable,  inconceivable.  We  shall  ever  be  in 
happiness,  or  ever  in  misery.  What  a  thought ! 
Let  us  then,  at  all  times,  rightly  and  profoundly 
estimate  our  present  existence;  but  we  can  only 
do  so  when  we  associate  it  with  immortality. 

9.  The  second  Sabbath  in  the  year!  How 
did  we  value  the  first  ?  Did  we  afresh  conse- 
crate ourselves  to  God,  and  resolve  to  walk  with 
him  more  humbly,  to  serve  him  more  cheerfully, 
and  to  persevere  in  his  ways  more  vigorously 
than  ever?  Was  it  a  profitable  Sabbath?  Was 
it  one  of  much  spiritual  enjoyment?  Let  us 
properly  regard  this  Sabbath,  and  remember 
that  every  Sabbath  should  be  improved  by  us  as 
carefully  as  though  it  would  be  our  last. 

10.  The  acute  Cecil  observes:  "We  seldom 
discern  mercy  in  its  first  approach.  Does  it 
prune  away  the  finest  branches,  nip  the  loveliest 


FIRST  MONTH  OF  THE  YEAR.  127 


buds,  and  cover  the  earth  with  blossoms?  Yes, 
this  is  frequently  the  Divine  arrangement;  and 
it  is  the  arrangement  of  Infinite  Mercy.  It 
must  be  remembered  that  the  life  of  the  whole 
often  depends  on  the  removal  of  a  part.  Mercy 
will  then  wound  in  order  to  heal.  Regard  to 
the  fertility  of  the  tree  will  strip  off  its  most 
flourishing  suckers."  Always  endeavour,  dear 
reader,  to  discern  mercy  in  youf  afflictions; 
nothing  will  more  sustain  and  tranquillize. 

11.  As  the  professed  disciples  of  Christ,  you 
should  be  studious  at  all  times  to  realize  a  better 
country — that  is,  a  heavenly.  It  will  operate 
most  beneficially  and  powerfully.  It  will  wean 
you  from  the  present  world;  it  will  stimulate 
you  in  the  prosecution  of  your  journey;  it  will 
compose  and  strengthen  you  under  your  daily 
and  hourly  trials ;  it  will  induce  you  only  to  pitch 
your  tent  here,  and  to  be  continually  looking  for 
the  celestial  city — the  city  which  hath  founda- 
tions. Is  this  your  character? — are  these  your 
views? — are  these  your  anticipations? 

12.  In  passing  through  life,  how  often  we 
need  the  rod,  the  discipline  of  Providence,  pain- 
ful yet  paternal.  Still,  let  us  remember  that 
the  rod  has  a  voice.  When  God  strikes,  he  ad- 
dresses us.  Under  such  circumstances  let  us 
attend  with  peculiar  earnestness  to  his  commu- 


128  DAILY  THOUGHTS  FOR  THE 


nications.  The  voice  is  that  of  the  best  Friend, 
and  of  the  sagest  Counsellor ;  indeed,  it  is  the 
voice  of  Heaven.  Never  let  us  put  our  finger  in 
our  ears  when  the  rod  is  speaking.  How  many 
do  this !    They  will  not  hear  ! 

13.  Consider,  in  all  your  engagements,  and 
all  your  contemplated  movements,  dear  reader, 
what  a  span  of  life,  even  though  protracted  to 
its  utmost  duration,  lies  between  you  and  the 
grave!  And  if  you  would  appropriately  esti- 
mate its  value,  review  your  past  life ;  read  the 
heads  of  its  history  at  a  rapid,  though  not  a 
trifling  glance,  and  measure  by  this  moment  the 
future. 

14.  By  the  lapse  of  months  and  years  that 
vagueness  and  indefiniteness  are  removed,  and 
that  silent  and  imperceptible  movement  which 
would  otherwise  accompany  the  flow  of  time. 
By  the  revolving  year  we  are  enabled  in  some 
degree  to  ascertain  the  point,  as  to  this  mortal 
life,  on  which  we  stand;  and  certain  measures 
are  afibrded  by  which  accurately  to  compute  the 
Bum  of  the  past,  and  to  calculate  by  experience 
the  probable  amount  of  the  portion  yet  to  come. 
As  the  months  roll  away,  carefully  observe  the 
revolution. 

15.  How  startling,  reader,  is  the  reflection, 
and  how  it  ought  to  impress  every  heart,  that 


FIRST  MONTH  OF  THE  YEAR.  129 

the  end  of  all  things  is  at  hand,  even  though 
myriads  of  years  were  interposed  between  us 
and  the  last  day !  Our  doom  may  be  sealed  in 
an  instant — in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye  it  might 
occur;  and  when  it  does,  it  will  be  fixed  and 
irreversible. 

16.  The  third  Sabbath  in  the  year!  How 
quickly  Sabbaths  come,  and  how  swiftly  they 
depart!  We  can  scarcely  say  they  are  here, 
before  they  have  vanished.  Their  opportunities 
are  soon  gone;  their  enjoyments,  their  privi- 
leges, their  priceless  blessings  are  soon  realized, 
and  the  world,  with  all  its  cares,  temptations, 
and  dangers,  speedily  follows.  How  necessary, 
then,  is  it  to  redeem  the  time  of  the  Sabbath! — 
not  to  lose  a  jnoment,  as  every  one  is  golden; 
not  to  neglect  an  opportunity,  as  every  one  is 
most  precious;  not  to  undervalue  a  single  privi- 
lege, as  each  may  be  regarded  as  a  pearl  of 
great  price. 

17.  During  the  present  year,  if  life  be  pro- 
longed, desire  to  improve  in  everything  that  is 
excellent  and  divine.  Pray  habitually  that  you 
may  improve;  strive  earnestly  that  your  im- 
provement may  be  visible  to  yourselves  and 
others ;  and  be  assured  of  this,  that  it  will  be 
apparent.  By  God's  help  you  will,  you  must 
succeed,  if  you  are  determined  that  the  end  of 

12 


130 


DAILY  THOUGHTS  FOR  THE 


your  desire  may  be  secured.  It  is  the  idle, 
listless,  irresolute  professor,  who  does  not  pros- 
per. 

18.  Let  us  this  year  look  around  in  the  world, 
and  see  how  little  comparatively  is  done.  How 
much  mind  lies  waste  for  want  of  culture !  By 
attention,  by  labour,  by  skill,  it  might  be  most 
productive.  How  many  immortal  beings,  in 
relation  to  their  moral,  their  religious,  their 
undying  welfare,  are  utterly  neglected!  Minis- 
ters, parents,  teachers,  members  of  churches, 
we  must  all  arouse,  and  work  for  God!  Let 
none  of  us  stand  with  folded  arms.  In  refer- 
ence to  ourselves,  let  us  endeavour  to  correct 
what  is  wrong  and  improve  what  is  right;  and 
in  relation  to  others,  let  us  aim  at  lessening  the 
sum  of  human  misery,  and  augmenting  the 
amount  of  human  happiness. 

19.  Be  exceedingly  anxious  this  year  to  cul- 
tivate a  grateful  spirit.  Consider  what  God  has 
done  for  you  already;  what  he  is  now  doing, 
and  what  he  has  engaged  to  do.  Every  year, 
as  it  comes  and  as  it  rolls  away,  should  find 
you  more  thankful.  What  personal  mercies  are 
imparted;  what  domestic  comforts  are  afforded; 
with  what  relative  blessings  are  you  crowned ! 
How  mercies  accumulate  day  by  day!  And 
they  are  all  bestowed  on  the  most  undeserving. 


FIRST  MONTH  OF  THE  YEAR.  131 

Never  expect  that  God  will  give  you  that  for 
which  you  will  not  thank  him. 

20.  Let  us  attend  to  the  service  of  Christ  this 
year  more  seriously  than  ever.  It  should  be  our 
continual  employment,  our  habitual  study,  our 
deep  solicitude,  our  absorbing  desire.  What  can 
I  do  for  my  Lord?  should  be,  dear  reader,  your 
unceasing  inquiry:  and  not  only  must  you  ask 
the  question,  but  perform  the  work. 

21.  It  is  important  to  bear  in  mind  that  you 
may  have  many  difficulties  and  trials  during 
the  current  year.  Anticipate  them;  be  armed 
against  them,  and  when  they  come,  meet  them 
in  the  right  spirit.  And  remember.  Christian 
reader,  that  there  could  be  no  difficulty  in  your 
way  if  God  did  not  permit  it.  Besides,  do  you 
not  owe  much  to  difficulty,  much  to  trial,  much 
to  danger?  Would  character  have  been  formed 
or  matured  without  them?  Would  high  Chris- 
tian attainments  and  excellencies  have  been 
developed  without  them?  Impossible!  Go  on 
then,  determined  to  endure. 

22.  "It  is  my  way,"  said  a  master  spirit, 
"to  suffer  no  impediment,  no  love  of  ease,  no 
avocation  whatever,  to  chill  the  ardour,  to  break 
the  continuity,  or  divert  the  completion  of  my 
literary  pursuits."  Let  every  Christian,  in  rela- 
tion to  the  labours,  the  trials,  the  conflicts  of 


132  DAILY  THOUGHTS  FOR  THE 


the  religious  life,  exemplify  the  same  temper. 
It  is  and  will  be  found  invaluable.  By  heroic 
energy  like  this,  anything  can  be  done.  There 
is  in  such  a  spirit  the  surest  pledge  of  success. 

23.  The  fourth  Sabbath  in  the  year!  Let 
it  be  the  best  in  the  month;  the  holiest,  the 
most  spiritual,  the  most  profitable,  the  most 
heavenly;  and  in  order  that  it  may  be,  you  must 
abound  in  prayer,  and  delight  in  prayer.  Those 
Sabbaths  are  always  the  happiest  and  the  most 
advantageous,  when  we  are  most  anxious  to  hold 
communion  with  God  our  Saviour  at  the  mercy 
seat.  Regard  it  as  an  indubitable  principle, 
that  no  Sabbath  will  be  connected  with  a  bless- 
ing if  prayer  be  neglected,  or  offered  in  a  cold 
and  apathetic  manner.  Pray  more  on  the 
Sabbath,  and  God  will  instruct  and  bless  you 
more. 

24.  Peruse  the  Bible  more  this  year.  Read 
it  more  devotionally,  with  greater  simplicity  and 
docility  of  mind  than  ever.  There  is  no  book 
like  the  Book  of  God  to  aid  us  in  discharging 
the  duties  of  the  year,  to  succour  us  amidst  the 
temptations  of  the  year,  to  support  us  under  the 
afflictions  of  the  year,  and  to  carry  us  through 
all  the  changes  of  the  year.  By  every  Christian 
the  Bible  is  read  too  little.  Will  you,  avowed 
followers  of  the  Redeemer,  old  and  young,  pay 


FIRST  MONTH  OF  THE  YEAR. 


133 


closer  attention  to  the  word  of  God  during  this 
year  than  any  preceding  one? 

25.  Ministers,  parents,  teachers,  earnestly 
seek  the  conversion  of  sinners  this  year !  It  is 
a  noble  and  heroic  work;  but  what  difficulties 
are  associated  with  it!  Weigh  it  well.  Go 
about  it  in  the  wisest,  firmest,  humblest  manner. 
Attempt  nothing  in  your  own  strength;  observe 
all  the  impediments  in  your  way,  and  make 
ample  preparation  to  overcome  them.  Look  up 
to  the  Spirit  of  God  to  assist  you  and  grant  you 
a  blessing;  then  collect  your  energies,  strain 
every  nerve,  pierce  to  the  centre,  strike  to  the 
heart.  Will  you  be  the  instrument,  reader,  of 
converting  a  soul  this  year? 

26.  Bishop  Hall  observes,  with  his  usual 
point  and  sagacity,  that  a  man's  best  monu- 
ment is  his  virtuous  actions.''  Take  care,  dear 
reader,  that  you  are  helping  to  rear  this  monu- 
ment daily,  and  doing  it  without  noise  or  osten- 
tation; building  it  up  in  the  most  solid,  yet  in 
the  most  quiet  and  unpretending  manner. 

27.  Let  it  be  with  each  one  of  us  a  leading 
object  throughout  the  entire  course  of  life,  not 
only  to  preserve  what  knowledge  we  have  ac- 
quired, but  also  to  increase  it — and  especially  in 
relation  to  scriptural  knowledge.  And  if  we 
only  carry  out  this  principle  from  day  to  day,  it 

12* 


134  DAILY  THOUGHTS  FOR  THE 


is  surprising  on  what  a  fund  we  shall  be  able  to 
draw  in  twenty  or  thirty  years.  Let  every 
reader  add  daily  to  his  stock  of  Christian  know- 
ledge. 

28.  During  this  year  do  not  be  too  anxious ; 
it  is  unnecessary,  injurious,  and  improper.  Re- 
gard the  will  of  God,  follow  the  directions  which 
he  has  given  you  in  his  own  word,  and  then  leave 
all  the  rest  to  him.  He  will  take  care  of  you ; 
he  will  supply  your  wants;  he  will  regard  your 
prayers;  he  will  fulfil  his  promises;  he  will  dis- 
perse your  fears. 

29.  A  great  writer  has  given  us  a  fine  direc- 
tion, "Fill  your  little  sphere  with  brightness 
and  happiness.''  And  if  it  were  thus  filled,  how 
pure  and  sunny  would  be  the  radiance! — how 
beaming  and  lasting  would  be  the  joy!  Will 
you,  reader,  endeavour  this  year  to  fill  your 
sphere  in  this  manner? 

30.  Some  years  have  five  Sabbaths  in  the 
first  month,  and  this  is  one  of  them.  Let  it  be 
to  you  an  emblem  and  a  foretaste  of  that  ever- 
lasting Sabbath  in  heaven.  Look  well  to  your 
hope  for  eternity  this  year,  as  it  may  be  your 
last.  See  that  it  is  purely  scriptural  in  its  cha- 
racter ;  that  it  is  well-grounded  ;  that  it  has  the 
warrant  which  the  word  of  God  will  sanction ; 
that  there  is  about  it  no  deception  whatever. 


FIRST  MONTH  OF  THE  YEAR. 


135 


Always  ponder  the  solemn  remark  of  a  sage  and 
holy  writer,  "  There  is  a  hope  that  is  like  the 
spider's  web — as  curiously  wrought,  as  easily 
destroyed." 

31.  In  aiming  to  do  good  this  year,  you  must 
not  suppose  that  all  will  be  tranquil  and  plea- 
sant ;  that  there  will  be  no  obstructions  in  your 
way.  No  great  work,  remember,  can  be  done 
w^ithout  much  opposition.  Never,  then,  look  for 
peace  while  you  proclaim  war  and  carry  it  on. 
In  doing  good  to  souls,  Satan  will  give  you  no 
rest. 

The  last  day  of  the  month ! — how  solemn  the 
thought!  It  will  soon  be  the  last  day,  the  last 
hour,  the  last  moment  of  life !  How  do  you  feel 
in  the  prospect  of  eternity?  Are  you  ready  for 
your  change?  Are  you  pressing  towards  the 
mark  of  your  calling  in  Christ  Jesus?  Will  you 
reach  heaven?  Will  you  wear  the  crown?  Make 
it  your  great  business  every  day  to  be  prepared 
for  the  last  day  of  life ;  and  then  let  the  days, 
the  months,  the  years,  roll  on.  They  will  only 
be  bringing  you  nearer  the  kingdom;  the  rest 
which  God  has  promised,  and  the  boundless  in- 
heritance which  you  shall  eternally  enjoy. 


136         FIEST  SABBATH  IN  THE  YEAR. 


THE  FIRST  SABBATH  IN  THE  YEAR. 

"The  year  is  born! — the  year  is  born! — 

The  past  is  numbered  with  the  dead ! 
What  thoughts  arise  on  New- Year's  morn ! 

"What  days — what  friends — what  hopes  have  fled! 
Few  time  arrives — new  works  to  do — 
Kew  cares — new  dangers  are  in  view." 

The  return  of  every  Sabbath  is  a  most  interest- 
ing period,  especially  to  the  person  who  loves 
God,  who  loves  the  truth,  and  who  loves  holi- 
ness. It  is  connected  with  the  most  animating 
duties;  with  the  purest  and  most  grateful  enjoy- 
ments; with  the  most  kindling  and  delightful 
associations.  There  is  something,  however,  pre- 
eminently interesting  connected  with  the  first 
day  and  the  first  Sabbath  in  the  year,  and  it 
ought  to  inspire  emotions  correspondingly  plea- 
surable as  w^ell  as  powerful. 

The  return  of  every  Sabbath  is,  also,  the  ar- 
rival of  a  period  in  our  individual  and  domestic 
history,  which  is  peculiarly  solemn.  Viewed 
aright  in  the  light  of  the  Holy  Scripture,  and 
in  the  light  of  eternity,  it  is  clothed  with  the 
deepest  solemnity;  but  the  first  Sabbath  in  the 
year  is  one  which  is  solemn  in  a  preeminent 
degree.    Thoughts  are  then  awakened — feelings 


FIKST  SABBATH  IN  THE  YEAR. 


137 


are  then  excited — impressions  are  then  made — 
and  recollections  are  then  induced,  which  rarely 
occur  at  any  other  period. 

Every  Sabbath,  moreover,  is  a  time,  an  occa- 
sion of  marked  importance  and  significance;  the 
events  contemplated,  the  doctrines  recurred  to, 
the  obligations  imposed,  the  assemblies  convened, 
the  objects  regarded,  the  responsibilities  involved, 
combine  in  attaching  to  it  the  utmost  value  and 
moment;  but  the  first  Sabbath  in  the  year  is 
associated,  unquestionably,  with  peculiar,  w4th 
undefinable  preciousness  and  importance.  All 
who  value  the  soul,  who  recognize  the  surpass- 
ing solemnity  and  moment  of  the  revelations  of 
Christianity,  and  who  are  impressed,  as  they 
should  be,  with  the  lapse  of  time,  the  brevity 
and  fragility  of  life,  the  nearness,  and  the  vast, 
tremendous  issues  of  the  future  judgment,  will, 
beyond  question,  think  and  feel  in  this  manner. 
Let  us  then,  on  the  arrival  of  this  hallowed  and 
memorable  day,  the^rs^  Sabbath  in  the  year, 
cherish  those  sentiments,  those  affections,  those 
anticipations,  which  ought  to  be  called  forth, 
and  which  must  be  awakened  in  connection  with 
the  experience  and  history  of  every  intelligent 
and  sincere  Christian. 

It  is  a  pertinent  and  significant  inquiry,  which 
we  should  do  well,  at  this  season,  to  ponder  in 


138 


FIRST  SABBATH  IN  THE  YEAR. 


the  most  serious  manner:  ^'How  should  the^r^^ 
Sabbath  in  the  year  be  spent?''  It  is  a  special 
period,  it  therefore  involves  special  duties — 
should  induce  a  special  train  of  thought  and 
feeling — and  should  be  connected  with  the  for- 
mation and  carrying  out  of  special  resolves. 

The  first  Sabbath  in  the  year  should  be  spent 
in  the  exercise  of  careful  and  solemn  retrospec- 
tion. 

Recollection,  diligent,  comprehensive,  and 
minute,  should  be  brought  into  exercise.  We 
must  look  back — there  must  be  a  survey  taken 
of  our  past  history,  and  especially  during  the 
preceding  twelve  months.  We  must  review  the 
conduct  of  an  infinitely  wise  and  gracious  Pro- 
vidence towards  us.  We  must  attentively  ob- 
serve the  path  in  which  the  Lord  our  God  has 
been  leading  us;  and,  if  the  retrospection  of  our 
history  for  the  past  year  be  appropriately  pur- 
sued, what  thoughts  will  be  elicited!  what  emo- 
tions will  be  inspired!  what  impressions,  deep 
and  most  advantageous,  will  be  induced!  How 
many  circumstances  and  events  will  occur  to  us 
of  wants  supplied,  of  light  shed,  of  direction 
furnished,  of  strength  vouchsafed,  of  support  in 
trial  administered,  of  deliverance  from  imminent 
and  formidable  peril  bestowed,  of  special  answers 
to  prayer  in  the  closet  and  the  family  granted! 


FIRST  SABBATH  IN  THE  YEAR.  139 


So  that  the  review  will  be  most  consolatory, 
impressive  and  beneficial;  while  the  mind  is 
informed,  counselled,  and  stimulated,  the  heart 
will  be  sensibly  and  powerfully  affected. 

Let,  therefore,  the  first  Sabbath  in  the  year 
be  a  season  of  spontaneous  and  most  grateful 
retrospection,  and  it  will  be  one  not  only  pro- 
perly spent,  but  of  great  and  lasting  benefit. 

The  first  Sabbath  in  the  year  should  be 
entered  on  with  deep  humility.    All  pride  must 
be  checked,  all  self-complacency  must  be  discoun- 
tenanced, all  self-confidence  must  be  brought 
down.   In  a  word,  all  boasting  must  be  excluded. 
When  we  look  back,  and  review  our  history 
during  the  brief  period  of  twelve  months,  how 
much  is  there  to  humble  us !    How  much  to 
occasion  shame  and  self-mortification !  There 
is,  confessedly,  no  room  for  self-praise;  no 
ground  for  self-conceit  or  exultation.  Quite 
the  reverse.    We  can  only  place  our  hand  on 
our  lips,  and  our  mouth  in  the  dust,  while  self- 
prostration,  and  complete  self-humiliation  are 
indulged  before  God.    During  the  past  year 
how  many  things  has  the  Lord  seen  within  us 
and  in  connection  with  us,  which  have  been 
most  unworthy  and  most  improper !   How  many 
circumstances  have  we,  if  any  of  us  are  real 
Christians,  seriously  and  bitterly  to  deplore! 


140  FIRST  SABBATH  IN  THE  YEAR. 

What  coldness  in  religion!  What  indifference 
in  prayer!  What  deficiencies  in  love!  What 
worldliness  of  thought  and  feeling!  What  mix- 
ture of  motive  in  celebrating  divine  worship! 
How  little  profit  derived  from  the  means  of 
grace !  What  defective  zeal !  What  partial  and 
flagging  obedience!  What  feeble  and  trifling 
efforts  made  to  glorify  the  Saviour!  How  little 
self-consecration  to  the  noblest  and  best  of 
beings!  Is  this  an  erroneous  statement?  Is  it 
an  exaggerated  representation  ?  By  no  means. 
Every  believer  in  Christ  Jesus,  when  dwelling 
on  his  past  conduct  and  history,  observes,  "The 
thousandth  part  cannot  be  told.  The  sins  of 
omission  alone,  during  one  year,  are  not  merely 
great  and  accumulated,  but  they  are  perfectly 
boundless !" 

The  first  Sabbath  in  the  year  should  be  spent 
in  the  exercise  of  unaffected  and  lively  gratitude. 
No  temper,  at  such  a  season,  is  more  becom- 
ing and  beautiful.  No  disposition,  moreover,  is 
more  important  and  indispensable;  and,  we 
would  add,  is  there  any  spirit,  at  such  a  period 
particularly,  which  should  be  more  natural  for 
us  to  unfold  ? 

On  the  first  Sabbath  in  the  year  every  disci- 
ple of  Christ,  every  child  of  Providence,  every 
Christian  pilgrim,  should  be  busily  employed  in 


FIRST  SABBATH  IN  THE  YEAR.  141 

raising  his  "pillar  of  memoriar*  to  heaven,  and 
in  engraving  on  it  the  memorable  inscription — 
"Ebenezer!"  singing  joyously  and  thankfully, 
"Hitherto  has  the  Lord  helped  me!"  If  we 
are  not  grateful  at  the  dose  of  the  year,  and 
at  its  commencement^  we  spontaneously  inquire, 
When  ought  we  to  be  grateful,  and  when  shall 
we  be  grateful? 

Let,  then,  the  first  Sabbath  in  the  year  be 
one  marked  by  peculiarly  preeminent  gratitude. 
Let  the  altar  be  early  raised;  let  the  oflfering  be 
readily  placed  on  it;  let  the  flame  of  love  and 
devotion  ascend  to  heaven;  and  let  the  shout  of 
joy  and  thanksgiving  be  heard.  This  is  the  tem- 
per which  God  will  approve;  this  is  the  spirit 
which  the  Saviour  will  appreciate  and  honour ; 
this  is  the  conduct  which  the  Holy  Spirit  will 
ratify  and  bless.  Take  up  your  harps,  therefore, 
ye  servants  of  the  Most  High,  on  the  first  Sab- 
bath morning  in  the  year,  and  on  them,  in  the 
sweetest  and  loudest  strains,  celebrate  the  praise 
of  the  Lord  God  of  Israel ! 

The  first  Sabbath  in  the  year  should  be  spent 
under  the  influence  of  pensive  and  tender  emo- 
tions. 

If  the  mind  be  properly  constituted,  and  if  the 
heart  be  suitably  influenced  and  affected,  these, 
at  such  a  season  especially,  will  be  awakened. 
13 


142         PIRST  SABBATH  IN  THE  YEAR. 

At  such  a  time,  if  at  any  period  at  all,  reflection 
will  be  induced,  memory  will  be  exercised,  and 
the  heart  will  be  ''made  soft/'  The  close  and 
the  beginning  of  the  year  are,  commonly,  sea- 
sons of  deep  pensiveness — not,  perhaps,  gloomy 
or  melancholy — but  quiet,  gentle,  profound,  and 
beneficial. 

When  we  rise  on  the  first  Sabbath  morning  in 
the  year,  and  survey  the  events  of  the  past 
twelve  months,  how  much  is  there  to  render 
the  mind  pensive !  What  changes  have  we  our- 
selves experienced!  What  alternations  in  our 
domestic  history !  What  sorrows  have  we  felt ! 
What  losses  have  we  sustained !  What  bereave- 
ments, perchance,  have  we  realized !  What  tears 
have  we  shed!  What  strange  vicissitudes  have 
we  undergone !  And  yet,  amidst  all,  how  kindly 
have  we  been  succoured ! — how  wondrously  have 
we  been  comforted  and  preserved ! 

We  go  to  our  seat  in  the  sanctuary  on  the  first 
Sabbath  morning  in  the  year,  and  look  around — • 
but  how  much  is  there  to  affect  us !  How  much 
to  call  forth  deep  and  pensive  emotion!  There 
may  be  another  minister  in  the  pulpit;  the  voice 
of  our  late  beloved  teacher  and  guide  may  be 
silent  in  the  grave.  We  survey  the  congrega- 
tion, and  cannot  but  observe  what  changes  death 
has  effected  in  the  short  period  of  one  year !  We 


FIRST  SABBATH  IN  THE  YEAR. 


143 


look  for  some  dear  Christian  friends  and  asso- 
ciates, who  used  to  sit  near  us,  and  commune 
with  us  at  the  Lord's  table — but  they  are  gone ! 
Their  bodies  are  mouldering  in  the  grave;  their 
spirits  are  with  God.  We  may  even  miss  some 
from  the  very  pew  in  which  we  have  long  wor- 
shipped ;  perhaps  some  choice  friend,  some  valued 
relative — it  may  be  a  husband,  a  wife,  a  brother, 
a  sister,  or  a  child.  What  a  tale  of  vicissitudes 
in  our  congregations  the  circumstances  and 
events  of  every  year  will  furnish ! — and  there- 
fore we  cannot  wonder  that  pensive  and  deep 
emotions,  at  such  a  period  as  the  first  Sabbath 
in  the  year,  is  spontaneously  awakened.  If  we 
think  and  feel  aright,  we  cannot  be  cold,  care- 
less, flippant  then.  Even  the  very  lapse  of  time 
itself  is  enough  to  make  us  all  pensive  and 
serious. 

The  first  Sabbath  in  the  year  should  be  spent 
in  the  spirit  of  prayer.  It  should  be  entered  on 
under  the  influence  of  a  devotional  temper;  and 
during  the  whole  of  the  day  this  disposition 
should  be  specially  cultivated. 

At  no  time  is  fervid  prayer  more  becoming, 
more  valuable,  more  necessary,  than  at  this; 
and  if  ever  we  "wrestle"  with  "the  Angel  of 
the  Covenant"  for  a  blessing — a  large,  rich,  full 
blessing — for  a  blessing  on  ourselves,  our  fami- 


144         FIRST  SABBATH  IN  THE  YEAR. 

lies,  our  ministers,  our  respective  churches,  our 
country,  the  cause  of  God  throughout  the  world, 
we  ought  to  do  so  on  the  first  Sabbath  morning 
in  the  year.  What  necessities  will  require  to  be 
supplied !  What  wisdom  shall  we  need !  What 
strength  shall  we  demand!  What  guidance, 
consolation,  succour,  and  deliverance  shall  we 
find  indispensable  during  the  year!  To  what 
duties  shall  we  be  called — in  what  situations 
shall  we  be  placed — by  what  dangers  shall  we 
be  surrounded — in  what  perplexities  shall  we  be 
involved — to  what  temptations  shall  we  be  ex- 
posed— through  what  accumulated  and  extraor- 
dinary trials  may  numbers  have  to  pass  before 
the  year  reaches  its  close !  and  therefore,  dear 
reader,  if  ever  you  pray  believingly,  earnestly, 
afi'ectionately,  confidingly,  importunately,  do  so 
at  the  beginning  of  the  year.  Let  your  special 
petitions  be  directed  to  heaven  for  clearer  views 
of  the  gospel — for  stronger  faith  in  Christ — for 
warmer  love  to  the  Saviour — for  more  glowing 
zeal  in  the  service  of  Immanuel — for  more  com- 
plete victory  over  the  world — for  readier  and 
more  unfaltering  obedience — for  more  afi*ection- 
ate  and  entire  consecration  to  the  Lord  of 
glory. 

Let  there  be  special  supplications  ofiered  at 
the  commencement  of  the  year  that  your  fami- 


FIRST  SABBATH  IN  THE  YEAR.  145 


lies  may  be  crowned  with  the  tokens  of  Divine 
regard — that  all  your  children  may  "live  before 
God/'  Let  the  Church  of  Christ  be  peculiarly 
remembered.  Pray  warmly  that  its  light  may 
increase — that  its  dross  may  be  removed — that 
its  value  may  be  more  appreciated — that  its 
power  may  be  more  felt — that  its  influence  may 
be  more  widely  extended — that  its  blessings  may 
be  more  richly  enjoyed. 

Real  prayer,  fervent,  continued,  acceptable, 
successful  prayer,  on  the  first  Sabbath  in  the 
year,  will  carry  along  with  it  signal  tokens  of 
Divine  care,  tenderness  and  love,  during  the 
ensuing  days,  weeks,  and  months  of  the  year; 
but  if  there  be  little  prayer  at  this  season,  if 
our  petitions  be  few,  cold,  feeble,  what  can  we 
expect  throughout  the  year,  but  a  blight — a 
moral  and  spiritual  blight  ? 

The  first  Sabbath  of  the  year  should  be  spent 
under  the  influence  of  strong  and  holy  confidence 
in  Grod. 

This  temper  should  peculiarly  mark  and  beau- 
tify us  at  such  a  season.  It  will  meet  with  an 
ample  recompense.  It  will  be  associated  with 
all  that  can  enrich,  ennoble,  and  honour.  Our 
confidence  in  God  must  be  vigorous,  enlightened, 
unfaltering.  There  must  be  no  mistake,  no 
13* 


146  FIRST  SABBATH  IN  THE  YEAR. 


hesitancy,  no  deviation.  God  will  have  our  full 
reliance,  if  we  are  to  receive  a  large  blessing. 

Put  then  your  entire  trust  in  the  Omnipotent, 
the  all-sufficient  Jehovah,  especially  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  year.  Repose  strong  confidence 
in  him,  that  your  daily  bread  will  be  given — 
your  daily  raiment  be  supplied — your  daily 
comforts  be  continued — your  daily  sorrows  be 
mitigated — your  daily  prayers  be  heard.  Can 
you  withhold  this  confidence  at  such  a  period  ? 
It  will  be  impossible,  if  you  think  and  feel  as 
you  should.  It  will  be  exercised  with  all  that 
simplicity,  affectionateness,  and  strong  faith 
which  distinguish  the  children  of  God.  Let 
your  motto  on  the  first  Sabbath  in  the  year  be 
the  following — you  cannot  have  one  more  suita- 
ble or  expressive — "I  will  trust,  and  not  be 
afraid.'' 

The  first  Sabbath  of  the  year  should  be  spent 
with  an  enlightened  and  vigorous  determination 
in  relation  to  the  future. 

There  must  be  intelligent  and  holy  resolves 
formed  at  such  a  period ;  and,  in  reliance  on 
Divine  agency,  they  must  be  carried  out;  prac- 
tically and  conscientiously  exemplified  during 
the  year.  And  there  must  be  one  determina- 
tion, in  particular,  which  each  Christian  must, 
on  this  first  Sabbath  in  the  year,  deliberately 


FIRST  SABBATH  IN  THE  YEAR.  147 


utter,  gratefully  and  joyfully  renew — ^'I  will 
walk  before  the  Lord  in  the  land  of  the  living." 
I  will  live  as  in  His  presence.  I  will  conduct 
myself  as  being  under  his  immediate  inspection. 
I  will  place  myself  under  his  control.  I  will 
devotedly  implore  his  guidance.  I  will  so  walk 
as  that,  by  Divine  grace,  I  may  approve  myself 
before  him.  Every  day  and  every  hour  through- 
out the  year  this  fine  resolve  should  be  carried 
out.  For  who  knows  what  may  happen  during 
the  year?  What  clouds  may  gather — what  ene- 
mies may  assail — what  perils  may  environ — what 
changes  may  occur?  How  completely  is  the 
future  concealed  from  us !  Besides,  the  present 
year  may  be  the  last  to  some — indeed,  to  many 
who  read  these  pages.  Prior,  and  it  may  be 
long  prior  to  its  termination,  they  may  be  in 
eternity,  and  be  made  acquainted  with  the 
secrets,  with  the  solemn,  the  awful  disclosures, 
of  the  invisible,  the  eternal  world !  Their  state 
may  be  fixed — their  destiny  sealed  for  ever! — 
yes,  for  ever ! 

Begin,  therefore,  dear  readers,  the  year  well. 
Let  it  not  be  commenced  without  much  medita- 
tion, much  prayer,  and  much  simplicity  and 
firmness  of  resolve;  and  especially  be  deter- 
mined humbly  to  walk  with  God,  and  before 
God.    Then  the  days,  the  weeks,  the  months  of 


148    HEAVENLY  USE  OF  EARTHLY  THINGS. 

the  year,  as  they  revolve,  will  bring  to  you  rich 
and  heavenly  blessings.  You  will  be  prepared 
for  every  duty;  you  will  be  fitted  for  every 
change;  and,  whether  you  live  or  die  during  the 
year,  you  will  be  safe,  you  will  be  happy.  All, 
in  relation  to  eternity,  will  be  secure,  all  will 
be  well.  Improve,  improve,  we  beseech  you, 
the  first  Sabbath  in  the  current  year,  and  let 
your  devout  and  appropriate  petition  be  the 
following: 

Where  Thou  shalt  settle  mine  abode, 

There  would  I  choose  to  be; 
For,  in  thy  presence,  death  is  life, 

And  earth  is  heaven  with  Thee." 

A  HEAVENLY  USE  OF  EARTHLY  THINGS. 

Though  I  now  enter  on  a  new  year,  I  know  not, 
except  by  the  calendar,  the  congratulations  of 
friends,  or  the  ringing  of  bells,  that  this  is  the 
commencement  of  a  new  era  of  time.  For  what 
is  there  in  the  face  of  nature  to  remind  me  of 
it?  The  weather  is  unchanged,  the  sun  gives 
no  new  light.  I  feel  myself  the  same;  my 
friends  look  as  usual;  and  unless  I  were  aware 
that  at  some  period  the  sun  must  be  considered 


HEAVENLY  USE  OF  EARTHLY  THINGS.  149 


to  renew  its  course,  and  that  the  same  objections 
might  be  made  to  whatever  season  we  fix  upon, 
I  should  censure  the  custom  of  calling  this  the 
commencement  of  a  new  year. 

But  when  I  enter  on  the  first  day  of  my  hea- 
venly year,  all  will  be  new  indeed.  A  brighter 
sun  will  then  rise  upon  me,  and  commence  an 
eternal  course ;  for  there  I  shall  see  it  in  all  its 
glory,  and  be  for  ever  with  the  Lord.  .Haste, 
glorious  morn !  Rise,  Sun  of  Righteousness ! 
let  me  see  thy  fresh  beams  gild  the  tops  of  the 
everlasting  hills,  shedding  new  lustre  on  all 
around !  There  the  faces  of  all  I  behold  will  be 
illumined  by  those  beams,  and  will  appear  glo- 
rious as  so  many  suns,  by  reflecting  the  splen- 
dour, the  purity  and  loveliness  of  it.  Will  not 
this  be  a  new-year's  day?  Alas!  my  former 
years  have  often  been  obscured  by  clouds,  which 
concealed  my  Saviour  from  my  view,  and  have 
presented  to  me  a  thousand  objects  which  reflect 
no  ray  of  the  Saviour's  glory,  but  are  all  covered 
with  the  dark  shadows  of  earth. 

In  this  also  my  first  day  in  heaven  will  be 
new — that  its  morn  will  be  succeeded  by  no 
night.  All  my  former  years  were  made  up  of 
nights  as  well  as  days.  This  new-year's  day, 
though  hailed  with  the  congratulations,  is  short 
and  dark,  and  followed  by  a  night  long  and 


150    HEAVENLY  USE  OF  EARTHLY  THINGS. 

dreary;  but  I  hope  to  enter  on  a  year  new  in- 
deed, made  up  all  of  day,  for  I  read  of  a  state 
of  which  it  is  said  there  shall  be  no  night. 
There  darkness  and  gloom  shall,  along  with  sin 
and  death,  be  completely  lost  in  the  sunshine  of 
God's  favour,  and  mortality  be  swallowed  up  of 
life. 

On  this  new-year's  day  I  meet  many  a  kind 
friend,  -with  benevolence  in  his  eyes  and  good 
wishes  on  his  lips,  saying  "  A  happy  new-year 
to  you."  But  when  I  enter  on  the  new  period 
of  my  existence  alone,  how  much  more  warmly 
will  I  be  welcomed;  how  far  higher  gratulations 
will  salute  my  ears!  Ministering  spirits  will 
meet  me  on  the  morning  of  that  day,  and  give 
me  joy  of  my  first  day  of  holiness  and  bliss. 
Their  eyes  will  speak  the  benevolence  of  their 
hearts;  their  salutations  will  proclaim  how  ar- 
dently they  wish  me  blessed  for  ever.  They 
will  not,  however,  ask  for  me  many  happy  re- 
turns of  that  day;  for  one  such  admission  into 
Christ's  presence  will  stamp  with  bliss  a  whole 
eternity.  Then  I  shall  enter  into  the  temple  of 
God,  to  go  no  more  out  for  ever.  Here  the  best 
wishes  of  friends  are  but  impotent.  While  they 
ask  for  me  many  new-years,  I  may  have  seen 
my  last;  and  that  which  they  wish  so  happy 
may  prove  disastrous,  for  it  may  be  wasted  in 


HEAVENLY  USE  OF  EARTHLY  THINGS.  151 

vanity  or  defiled  by  sin.  But  every  welcome 
that  shall  meet  me  on  my  entrance  into  heaven 
will  prove  prophetic.  Every  friend  that  greets 
me  there  will  be  a  minstrel,  every  minstrel  a 
bard,  each  bard  gifted  with  far  distant  sight, 
and  all  their  inspiration  will  portend  my  bliss. 

Sweet  as  it  is  loud  will  be  the  burst  of  such 
gratulations,  but  still  more  delicious  and  more 
mighty  the  welcome  of  the  Eternal  King;  for  as 
my  times  are  in  his  hand,  and  he  dispenses  days 
and  years  according  to  his  pleasure,  how  beatific 
his  voice  when  it  bids  me  enter  into  the  joy  of 
my  Lord,  and  spend  such  a  year  as  he  himself 
now  spends. 

Sweet  is  the  existence  the  once  afilicted  Jesus 
enjoys.  Since  he  rose  from  the  dead,  we  ever 
after  have  kept  Sabbath  on  that  first  day  of  the 
week;  and  when  he  entered  heaven,  his  attend- 
ant spirits  demanded  entrance,  saying,  "  Lift  up 
your  heads,  0  ye  gates;  and  be  ye  lift  up,  ye 
everlasting  doors,  and  the  King  of  Glory  shall 
come  in.''  Heaven  celebrated  its  new  year  of 
consummate  bliss.  He  now  sees  the  travail  of 
his  soul,  and  is  satisfied;  and  when  he  admits 
me  to  share  his  bliss,  I  shall  ask  no  more  returns 
of  new  years,  for  my  years  will  never  grow  old. 
What  eternally  satisfies  Christ,  will  never  pall 
upon  my  taste.    Bliss,  ever  new  to  him,  will 


152      BEGINNING  THE  NEW  YEAR  WELL. 


retain  all  its  power  to  entrance,  exalt,  and 
satisfy  my  soul.  Shall  I  then  say,  Away  with 
the  new  years  of  earth;  I  want  not  many 
returns — the  fewer  the  better,  until  I  see  my 
Lord?  No!  all  the  days  of  my  appointed  time 
will  I  wait,  till  my  change  come.  But  I  will 
say,  Welcome,  thrice  welcome  this  current  year, 
for  thou  art  nearer  to  Christ  and  to  heaven  than 
the  last  year!  Welcome  all  the  days  that  yet 
await  me,  for  Jesus  sends  them  to  bear  me  on 
their  wings  to  the  bosom  of  my  Lord!  But 
welcome  most  last  year,  for  that  will  prove  my 
best;  handing  me  forward  to  the  presence  of 
Him  whom  my  soul  longs  to  see,  that  I  may 
spend  eternal  years  in  his  presence,  where  there 
is  fulness  of  joy;  and  at  his  right  hand,  where 
there  are  pleasures  for  evermore. 

 ♦  

BEGINNING  THE  NEW  YEAR  WELL. 

"Another  year  has  flown  away — 
Eternity  has  swallowed  all : — its  scenes, 
Its  changes,  sorrows,  joys — all  which  saddened 
Or  enlivened,  are  gone,  and  gone  for  ever! 
How  must  this  commence?" — Voice  of  the  Years. 

In  entering  on  a  new  era  of  our  existence,  we 
commence  a  season  of  deep  and  peculiar  solera- 


BEGINNING  THE  NEW  YEAR  WELL.  153 


nity,  especially  when  we  contemplate  the  duties 
which  it  may  involve,  the  trials  which  may  be 
realized  during  its  continuance,  and  the  bereave- 
ments which  may  be  sustained;  it  therefore  be- 
hoves us,  as  reflective  and  responsible  beings,  to 
approach  it  and  enter  on  it  under  the  influence 
of  pensive  and  serious  emotions,  and  not  with 
the  thoughtlessness,  the  flippancy,  and  the  merri- 
ment of  the  fool. 

The  period,  moreover,  when  we  enter  on 
another  revolving  year,  and  that  year  compre- 
hending so  much  which  is  eventful  to  us  in  the 
present  life,  and  bearing  so  closely,  and,  indeed, 
inseparably  on  the  future  and  eternal  existence 
to  which  we  are  looking  forward,  is  one  asso- 
ciated with  great  and  awful  responsibility;  and 
we  cannot  commence  it  aright  without  a  sense  of 
that  responsibility  being  most  powerfully  felt, 
and  prompting  to  the  performance  of  every  in- 
cumbent duty,  as  well  as  to  bold  and  courageous 
grappling  with  every  difiiculty,  temptation,  and 
adversary.  In  the  providence  of  God  we  are 
spared  to  witness  the  flight  of  the  past  year,  and 
to  hail  the  arrival  of  the  present;  and  it  is  of 
the  utmost  moment  that  we  should  form  and 
express  our  individual  and  solemn  determination, 
namely,  that  we  ivill  begin  the  year  well. 

This  resolution  is  most  proper  and  wise; 
14 


154      BEGINNING  THE  NEW  YEAR  WELL. 


nothing  can  be  more  becoming,  rational,  and 
just.  This  determination  is  most  expedient  and 
desirable — nothing  can  be  more  connected  with 
our  happiness,  or  conducive,  in  every  sense,  to 
our  best  interests.  This  resolve  is  most  import- 
ant and  necessary,  that  character  may  be  exem- 
plified, that  conduct  may  be  regulated  and 
improved,  that  excellence  may  be  attained  and 
increased.  It  is  a  resolution,  however,  which 
must  spring  from  enlightened  sentiments,  which 
must  be  guided  and  moulded  by  the  word  of 
God,  and  which  must  be  expressed  and  main- 
tained, not  in  our  own  strength,  in  dependence 
on  our  own  unaided  resources,  but  in  simple,  in 
unhesitating  reliance  on  the  omnipotence  of  that 
Spirit,  who  by  his  grace  will  fit  us  for  every 
scene,  prepare  us  for  every  labour,  uphold  us 
under  every  trial,  whatever  its  pungency. 

Now,  to  begin  the  year  well,  we  must  com- 
mence it  with  solemn  retrospection.  We  must 
look  back.  We  must  carefully  review  our  past 
history.  We  must  impartially  scrutinize  our 
past  conduct.  We  must  "remember  the  way  in 
which  the  Lord  our  God  has  been  leading  us," 
however  rugged,  intricate  and  trying  that  way 
might  have  been  felt  or  deemed  by  us.  We 
must  attentively  mark  the  dealings,  the  varied 
arrangements  of  Divine  Providence,  and  see  how, 


BEGINNINa  THE  NEW  YEAR  WELL.  155 


with  everything  pleasing  or  painful,  under  every 
aspect,  luminous  or  dark,  all  events  have  been 
necessary  for  us,  and  all  designed  for  our  good. 

We  must  recur  to  the  scenes  of  the  past  year, 
so  chequered,  and  frequently  so  gloomy  and 
lurid ;  we  must  dwell  on  the  temptations  of  the 
year,  often  so  powerful  and  seducing — on  the 
difficulties  of  the  year,  marked  frequently  by 
extreme  breadth  and  intricacy — on  the  afflic- 
tions, the  sicknesses  of  the  year,  not  only  nu- 
merous and  painful,  but  sometimes,  perhaps, 
almost  overwhelming.  We  must  review  the  mer- 
cies  of  the  year,  and  observe  how  our  tables 
have  been  supplied,  how  our  lives  have  been 
preserved,  how  our  families  have  been  blest, 
how  our  fears  have  been  removed,  and  how 
every  desirable  communication  has  been  im- 
parted. 

We  must  consider  how  we  have  been  aided 
while  discharging  the  duties  of  the  past  year — 
personal,  domestic,  relative  engagements — what- 
ever might  have  been  their  arduousness,  compli- 
cation, or  importance. 

We  can  never  commence  the  year  properly 
without  this  solemn  retrospection,  and  especially 
without  looking  back  to  observe  and  lament  the 
multiplied  deficiencies,  irregularities,  and  defec- 
tions before  God,  with  which  we  have  been 


156       BEGINNING  THE  NEW  YEAR  WELL. 


chargeable,  and  to  admire  and  adore  his  for- 
bearing mercy  in  "healing  our  backslidings," 
"pitying  our  infirmities/'  and  forgiving  our  sins. 

To  begin  the  year  well,  we  must  commence  it 
with  large  and  enlightened  inquiries.  The  mind 
must  be  drawn  out;  the  soul  must  be  awakened; 
great  thoughts  must  be  elicited  and  enkindled. 
No  little,  paltry  sentiments  must  be  entertained, 
no  mean,  insignificant  questions  must  be  pro- 
posed. As  the  years  are  rolling  over  us,  their 
significance  and  grandeur  are  continually  in- 
creasing, and  hence  it  devolves  on  us  to  endea- 
vour to  meet  their  claims,  and  to  act  worthily  of 
their  character  and  importance. 

In  entering,  then,  on  the  year,  let  us  take 
large  and  comprehensive  views;  let  us  propose 
intelligent  and  great  inquiries,  that  we  may 
unfold  a  character  befitting  us  at  the  present 
advancing  period  in  our  ecclesiastical  and  na- 
tional history,  and  do  something  worthily  in  this 
age  of  progress. 

Let  each  reader  seriously  ask,  "What  am  I 
purposing  to  do,  if  life  be  prolonged  during  the 
present  year?  What  as  a  minister?  What  as 
a  parent?  What  as  a  teacher  of  the  young? 
What  as  a  master  or  mistress?  What  as  a 
brother  or  sister?  What  as  a  child?  What  in 
any  capacity — as  a  Scripture  reader,  tract  dis- 


BEGINNING  THE  NEW  YEAR  WELL.  157 

tributor,  a  visitor  of  the  poor  and  sick?  What 
fresh  plans  can  I  form  to  benefit  my  family 
more  efi'ectually?  What  additional  arrange- 
ments can  I  make  to  subserve  the  best  interests 
of  the  church  and  congregation  with  which  I 
am  identified?  AVhat  enlargement  and  impetus 
can  I  give  to  any  efi*orts  which  are  making  for 
the  intellectual  and  moral  elevation  of  my  coun- 
try, the  evangelization  of  Europe  and  the  world? 
Knowledge  must  be  more  widely  diffused;  infi- 
delity must  be  more  vigorously  met;  error  in  all 
its  forms  must  be  more  decisively  counteracted; 
Romanism,  whatever  its  seductions  or  appliances, 
must  be  more  wisely  and  powerfully  resisted. 
What  can  I  do,  or  what  do  I  intend  doing  in 
this  great,  this  gigantic  undertaking?  These 
are  fitting  and  significant  questions  to  propose 
and  urge  at  the  commencement  of  another  year; 
and  it  is  incumbent  on  each  right-minded,  each 
sound-hearted  person,  to  submit  them  to  his 
understanding,  his  judgment,  his  conscience,  as 
in  the  sight  of  God,  and  in  the  prospect  of  his 
awful  account  at  the  last  day. 

To  begin  the  year  well,  we  must  commence  it 
under  the  influence  of  a  devotional  spirit.  This 
is  indispensable  on  the  part  of  every  individual, 
whatever  his  position  in  society,  to  its  right  begin- 
ning. There  must  be  no  mistake  here,  no  reluct- 
14* 


158       BEGINNING  THE  NEW  YEAR  WELL. 


ance  here,  no  neglect  here.  While  we  want  the 
mind  to  be  aroused,  the  best  efforts  to  be  put 
forth,  we  are  preeminently  anxious  that  the  heart 
should  be  moulded  and  sanctified  by  the  Spirit 
of  God.  We  want  the  affections  to  be  raised  to 
heaven,  and  to  be  enkindled  with  fire  from  the 
celestial  altar.  We  want  God  to  be  emphatically 
sought,  his  aid  to  be  implored,  his  presence  and 
blessing  to  be  enjoyed  in  all  things.  We  there- 
fore need,  at  the  present  crisis  in  our  history,  a 
general  and  fine  development  of  the  spirit  of 
prayer.  All,  at  the  beginning  of  the  year,  must 
pray,  and  we  must  all  'pray  more.  Our  suppli- 
cations must  be  more  frequent,  more  direct,  more 
fervid,  more  agonizing.  We  must  wrestle,  and 
continue  to  wrestle  in  prayer,  until  we  have  the 
blessing.  What  light  can  be  scattered  without 
prayer?  What  error  can  be  checked  without 
prayer?  What  enemies  can  be  discomfited  and 
put  to  shame  without  prayer?  How  can  indi- 
viduals be  blessed  without  prayer?  How  can 
sinners  be  awakened  and  brought  to  God  with- 
out prayer?  How  can  the  peace,  the  holiness, 
and  the  enlargement  of  the  Church  of  Christ  be 
secured  without  prayer,  and  much  prayer  ? 

Let  us,  in  entering  on  the  year,  prefer  more 
simple,  fervent,  and  concentrated  prayers  than  we 
have  ever  yet  done.    May  the  true  ''Spirit  of 


BEGINNING  THE  NEW  YEAR  WELL.  159 


grace  and  supplication"  rest  upon  ns  in  all  our 
characters,  all  the  relations  of  life,  and  for  the 
general  good!  then,  a  special  benediction  from 
Heaven  will  rest  upon  us,  upon  all  our  plans, 
efforts,  and  instrumentality.  The  prayer  of  a 
wJiole  people,  at  the  commencement  of  the  year, 
must  issue  in  copious  and  signal  blessings  during 
its  continuance,  and  throughout  succeeding  years. 

To  begin  the  year  well,  we  must  commence  it 
with  unlimited  suhmission  to  the  will  of  Gfod. 
There  must  be  no  distrust  of  his  care,  his  fideli- 
ty, his  goodness.  There  must  be  no  want  of 
confidence  in  his  wise  and  paternal  administra- 
tion. There  must  be  no  dissatisfaction  with  his 
allotments  or  arrangements.  There  must  be  no 
murmuring  against  his  procedure.  We  cannot 
commence  the  year  wisely  and  well  unless  this 
spirit  be  felt  and  displayed.  God  must  be  sub- 
mitted to  from  the  first  day  of  the  year  to  the 
last;  and  our  submission  must  be  enlightened, 
unqualified,  and  devotional.  It  must  be  the 
submission  of  disciples  to  their  Teacher,  of  sub- 
jects to  their  Sovereign,  of  children  to  their 
wise  and  benignant  Father  in  heaven.  We 
know  not  what  clouds  may  encircle  us,  what 
difficulties  may  perplex  us,  what  dangers  may 
environ  us,  what  enemies  may  assail  us,  what 
changes  may  depress  us  during  the  year;  but 


160       BEGINNING  THE  NEW  YEAR  WELL. 


this  we  know,  that  if  submission  to  God  be  exer- 
cised, and  if  our  submission  be  enlightened, 
child-like,  and  uncomplaining,  we  shall  be  able 
to  exclaim,  ''All  is  right! — all  is  well,  and  all 
must  be  well! — the  end  will  fully  justify  the  Di- 
vine arrangements  and  procedure."  Begin  the 
year,  then,  dear  reader,  animated  and  imbued 
with  this  fine  temper,  and  you  will  realize,  while 
it  advances,  its  blessed,  its  glorious  results — re- 
sults which  will  exert  the  happiest  influence,  not 
only  on  your  minds  and  characters,  but  prove  of 
the  utmost  importance  to  your  families  and  to 
the  Church  of  God. 

To  begin  the  year  well,  we  must  commence  it 
with  a  determination,  if  life  should  be  prolonged, 
for  the  advancement  of  the  glory  of  Christ.  We 
must  take  no  lower  aim;  we  must  propose  no 
inferior  object;  we  must  be  prompted  by  no 
other  motive;  we  must  be  impelled  by  no  other 
desire.  The  hours  of  the  year,  the  days  of  the 
year,  the  weeks  of  the  year,  and  the  months  of 
the  year,  as  they  successively  glide  away,  are 
all  to  be  consecrated  to  the  Redeemer,  that  his 
name  may  be  magnified,  that  his  honour  may  be 
subserved,  that  his  grace  may  be  exalted,  that 
his  purposes  of  infinite  love  and  mercy  may  be 
accomplished. 

This  is  the  right  use  of  life;  this  is  its  true 


BEGINNING  THE  NEW  YEAR  WELL.  161 


and  sublime  improvement.  The  question  should 
be  with  each  reader,  at  the  beginning  of  the 
year,  ''What  can  I  do  for  the  Saviour  while  it 
continues?  How  may  I  diflFuse  his  gospel,  ex- 
tend his  kingdom,  and  be  the  instrument  of  still 
more  widely  disseminating  the  blessings  of  his 
free  salvation?  This  is  to  be  my  grand  busi- 
ness, my  uniform,  my  one  aim.'' 

When  the  year  is  thus  begun,  with  a  fixed 
and  enlightened  resolve  to  glorify  Christ  Jesus, 
it  beconies  a  year  of  prayer,  a  year  of  effort,  a 
year  of  usefulnes.^,  a  year  of  sublime  and  holy 
ends.  Much  is  anticipated,  much  is  done,  much 
is  enjoyed.  How  is  it  with  you,  dear  readers, 
in  these  respects?  Are  you  all  disposed,  all 
qualified,  all  determined  to  glorify  the  Son  of 
God,  the  Redeemer  of  the  world,  at  the  com- 
mencement of  another  year?  and  are  you  in- 
tensely anxious  to  spend  the  year  in  such  a 
manner  as  that  "  He  who  in  all  things  is  to  have 
preeminence,"  may  be  supremely  honoured? 
Happy  the  person  who  can  at  once  respond, 
"  This  is  my  sincere,  my  high,  my  only  aspira- 
tion." 

Now,  if  we  begin  the  year  well,  in  the  manner, 
and  governed  by  the  spirit  and  principles  to 
w^hich  we  have  referred,  we  shall  realize  great 
and  precious   advantages.    For  example — we 


162 


BEGINNING  THE  NEW  YEAR  WELL. 


shall  have  the  testimony  of  a  good  conscience 
during  the  year;  and  this  is  no  ordinary,  no 
insignificant  blessing.  The  testimony  of  an  ap- 
proving conscience,  as  the  months  revolve,  will 
be  clear,  direct,  full,  and  most  satisfactory; 
and,  as  Matthew  Henry  observes,  "It  is  a  good 
thing  to  have  the  bird  in  the  bosom  singing 
sweetly." 

If  we  thus  begin  the  year,  we  shall  be  pre- 
pared for  all  the  duties  and  events  of  the  year. 
The  duties  to  which  we  may  be  called  this  year 
may  be  more  diversified  and  arduous  than  ever, 
sometimes  extraordinary;  still  there  will  be 
seasonable  and  requisite  qualifications  bestowed, 
as  they  successively  recur.  The  events  of  the 
year  may,  in  many  respects,  be  new,  be  stirring, 
and  most  important;  still,  we  .shall  be  fitted  for 
their  approach,  and  for  their  daily  and  con- 
tinual realization,  while  we  see  the  hand  of  God 
in  all. 

If  we  thus  begin  the  year,  we  shall  be  divinely 
supported  amidst  all  its  trials;  and  this  will  be 
to  us  no  trifling  boon,  no  ordinary  blessing,  to 
have  the  mind  kept  in  a  tranquil  and  happy 
state,  when  experiencing  one  affliction  and  an- 
other; and  to  find,  as  one  circumstance  of  dis- 
tress and  sorrow  and  another  may  be  occurring, 
that  there  is  a  fountain  of  living  consolation  to 


BEGINNING  THE  NEW  YEAR  WELL.  163 

which  we  can  repair,  and  the  pellucid  and  celes- 
tial waters  of  which  we  can  continually  drink. 

If  we  thus  begin  the  year,  we  shall  be  secured 
amidst  all  the  perils  of  the  year.  Whether  those 
perils  may  be  seen  or  unseen;  whether  they 
arise  from  enemies  without  or  within ;  whether 
they  spring  from  the  world  or  the  devil ;  whether 
they  may  be  connected  with  our  position  in  the 
family,  or  society  generally,  we  shall  be  per- 
petually shielded  by  the  providence  of  God,  and 
fortified  by  the  grace  of  God;  that  providence 
will  succour  us  invariably;  that  grace  will  pre- 
serve us  effectually. 

And  be  it  remembered,  that  if  commencing 
the  year  under  the  influence  of  the  spirit  incul- 
cated and  recommended,  we  should  be  removed 
by  death  before  the  year  terminate,  we  shall 
only  be  translated  to  that  world  where 

Life's  unbroken  joy  begins, 
And  life's  unending  Sabbath  reigns — 
The  peace  and  rest  of  heaven." 

The  journey  of  mortality  will  only  come  to  a 
close.  The  stream  of  the  present  shadowy  ex- 
istence will  be  crossed,  and  the  wide,  unbounded 
ocean  of  immortality  will  be  entered,  where  we 
shall  realize  a  fulness  of  bliss  which  will  never 
be  interrupted  and  never  cloy. 


164      BEGINNING  THE  NEW  YEAR  WELL. 


When  the  above  considerations  are  regarded, 
how  important  does  human  life  in  all  its  phases, 
all  its  aspects,  all  its  duties,  all  its  temptations, 
all  its  difficulties,  all  its  discipline,  appear! 
How  solemn  its  beginning,  its  continuance,  its 
close!  How  pregnant  with  great  issues;  how 
inevitably  resulting  in  a  tremendous  and  change- 
less doom!  How  necessary  to  be  seriously  con- 
templated; to  be  soberly  anticipated,  as  its  years 
approach;  to  be  diligently  prepared  for;  and 
for  the  end,  the  awful  end,  to  be  weighed ! 

Life  begun  is  solemn; 
But  what  awe  surrounds  it,  when  its  close 
Draws  nigh !    Then,  all  shadows  flee  away, 
And  everything  is  real — is  awful!" 

How  true  is  the  remark,  that  ^'our  life  is  full 
of  mysteries,  though  its  events  seem  so  vulgar 
and  of  every-day  occurrence!"  There  is  mys- 
tery in  its  beginning,  in  its  duration  here,  in  its 
ends,  in  its  impulses,  its  sympathies,  its  cares, 
its  vicissitudes,  its  temptations,  and  the  endlessly 
chequered  scenes  associated  with  it.  Life,  with 
which  so  many  trifle,  which  multitudes  never 
seriously  regard,  is  the  most  solemn  and  myste- 
rious thing  imaginable.  And  how  does  it  behove 
every  intelligent  and  immortal  being,  as  it  is 
passing  so  rapidly  away,  to  inquire.  What  is  my 


BEGINNING  THE  NEW  YEAR  WELL.  165 

life?  How  am  I  spending  it?  How  and  where 
will  it  end? 

See  to  it,  we  beseech  you,  reader,  that  when 
with  you  life  shall  be  finished,  the  work  of  life 
shall  be  done,  its  true  business  executed,  its 
true  end  accomplished. 

"Life  is  the  time  to  serve  the  Lord." 

Properly  and  continually  improve  that  time. 
Ask  now,  at  the  commencement  of  the  year, 
before  your  eyes  turn  away  from  the  pages  you 
are  reading — ''Should  I  die  during  the  year 
will  eternity  be  prepared  for?  will  the  goal  be 
run?  will  the  prize  be  gained?  will  the  rest  of 
heaven  be  enjoyed?  will  the  crown  of  celestial 
glory  be  mine  to  wear,  and  that,  too,  for  ever,  in 
the  presence  of  God  and  the  Lamb?"  Let  this 
year,  we  entreat  you,  dear  reader,  be  one; of 
preeminent  devotedness  to  God. 

Join,  we  request,  we  implore  you,  in  the  fol- 
lowing simple  but  beautiful  aspiration : 

let  our  lives,  great  God,  breathe  forth 
A  constant  melody; 
And  every  action  be  a  note 
In  the  sweet  hymn  to  Thee!" 


15 


166 


LOOKING  FORWAED. 


LOOKING  FORWARD. 

''Mark  how  my  time  speeds  on! 
I  cannot  check  its  course.    It  hurries  by 
"With  more  than  lightning  flight.    0  may  the  thought 
Impel  me  too;  and  while  upwards  my  gaze 
I  turn,  onwards  let  me  press 

The  past  has  "been  a  memorable  year — most 
memorable:  one,  in  the  history  of  thousands  of 
families,  and  of  the  entire  community,  which 
will  not  be  soon  forgotten — can  it  ever?  A 
year  distinguished  most  signallj^  by  the  Divine 
goodness,  the  blessings  communicated  by  which 
have  been  the  most  varied,  abundant,  beneficent, 
surprising;  and  one  characterized  also  by  the 
Divine  judgments  having  been  abroad — "the 
pestilence  that  walketh  in  darkness — the  de- 
struction that  wasteth  at  noon-day — terror  by 
night — the  arrow  that  flieth  by  day."  The  mor- 
tality prevailing  in  some  portions  of  our  country 
during  the  last  year  has  been  not  only  great, 
but  fearful.  Many  countenances  have  been  sad- 
dened, many  hearts  grieved — and  we  wondered 
w^hen  "the  plague"  would  cease,  when  the  pesti- 
lence would  check  its  ravages.  God,  however, 
in  the  fulness  of  his  mercy,  has  heard  prayer. 


LOOKING  FORWARD. 


1G7 


The  dire  visitations  of  heaven  have  been  re- 
moved. Sorrow  has  been  turned  into  joy,  the 
tokens  of  grief  into  the  expressions  of  praise; 
and  now  we  can  "sing  of  mercy,''  rich,  sove- 
reign, abundant  mercy,  instead  of  talking  of 
judgment.  Let  us  therefore  enter  on  the  pre- 
sent year  aright,  with  no  gloomy,  dejected, 
unbecoming  emotions.  Let  the  voice  of  grati- 
tude be  uttered.  Let  the  song  of  thanksgiving 
be  sweetly  and  loudly  expressed.  Let  the  in- 
cense of  the  deeply  grateful  heart  be  poured 
forth,  and  let  it  ascend  immediately  to  heaven, 
to  evince  how  we  think  and  feel  at  the  com- 
mencement of  another  momentous  era  in  our 
history  as  a  community — in  our  existence  as  a 
guilty,  but  highly-favoured  nation. 

While  we  look  back,  however,  let  us  not  do  it 
despondingly,  whatever  the  mortality  which  has 
prevailed,  the  bereavements  which  have  been 
experienced,  the  desolations  which  have  been 
felt  in  so  many  quarters;  let  us  also  look  up, 
under  the  influence  of  the  most  devout  and 
enkindling  emotions.  Let  the  soul  ascend  at 
once  to  that  gracious  and  divine  Benefactor,  who 
has  done  for  us  '^such  great  things  and  marvel- 
lous, whereof  we  are  glad;*'  and  let  us  tell  Him 
that  we  are  determined  to  "show  forth  his 
praise.'' 


168 


LOOKING  PORWARD. 


And  moreover,  while  we  look  up  with  every 
appropriate  sentiment  and  feeling,  let  us  be 
resolved  to  ''look  forward.''  Let  the  eye  of 
faith  penetrate  the  future.  Let  the  anticipa- 
tions of  lively  hope  and  confidence  be  cherished; 
and  let  us  enter  this  year  cultivating  the  spirit 
of  Christianity,  adhering  to  the  principles  of  the 
gospel,  and  clinging  to  the  expectations  and 
assurances  of  the  New  Testament,  more  vigour- 
ously  and  more  earnestly  than  ever. 

Let  us  look  forward  to  the  duties,  the  events, 
the  movements  of  the  year  with  becoming 
seriousness^  with  all  the  gravity  of  reflecting, 
accountable,  immortal  beings;  with  all  those 
feelings  of  appropriate  solemnity  awakened, 
when  we  contemplate  our  character,  our  position, 
the  uncertainty  of  our  tenure  below,  and  our 
boundless  and  awful  destiny.  Let  there  be  no 
trifling  disposition — no  volatile  frame  of  mind, 
which  is  as  little  as  unworthy.  A  dignified 
seriousness  is  the  spirit  with  which  we  should 
enter  on  the  year. 

Let  us  look  forward  with  gratitude.  Let  us  be 
thankful  for  past  interpositions,  so  decisive,  so 
frequent,  remarkable;  and  believing  that  ex- 
pressions of  the  Divine  goodness  and  mercy  will 
be  continually  vouchsafed  to  us  during  the  year. 
When  we  dwell  on  the  Divine  encouragements 


LOOKING  FORWARD. 


169 


and  assurances  which  are  aflforded,  as  year  after 
year  returns,  we  cannot  be  too  grateful;  and,  as 
the  Lord  is  ''crowning  the  year  with  his  good- 
ness,'' and  his  "paths  are  dropping  fatness" 
upon  us,  let  songs  of  unmingled  and  universal 
thankfulness  be  celebrated. 

Let  us  look  forward  with  confidence.  We  shall 
not  be  disregarded;  we  shall  not  be  unsheltered; 
we  shall  not  be  forgotten.  The  wants  of  the 
year  will  be  supplied;  the  difficulties  of  the  year 
will  be  removed;  the  dangers  of  the  year  will 
be  averted ;  the  afflictions  and  bereavements  of 
the  year  will  be  chastened  and  sanctified;  the 
illnesses  and  diseases  of  the  year  will  be  miti- 
gated, healed,  and  rendered  useful,  and  all  de- 
sirable blessings  for  the  year  will  be  freely  and 
munificently  imparted;  therefore  look  forward 
with  confidence — that  confidence  will  not  be  dis- 
appointed— it  cannot  be  put  to  shame. 

Let  us  look  forward  with  humility^  from  a 
convictioji  of  our  utter  unworthiness.  There 
must  be  no  undue  opinion  of  ourselves,  no  self- 
inflation  or  self-complacency;  indeed,  there  must 
be  an  absolute  renunciation  of  self. 

Kecurring  to  the  Divine  visitations  of  the  past 
year,  let  us  humble  ourselves  deeply  before  God 
our  Maker  and  our  Judge,  this  year.  Let  him 
see  that  we  are  truly  and  profoundly  humble 
15* 


170 


LOOKING  FORWARD. 


when  our  ignorance  is  contemplated,  when  our 
unworthiness  is  felt,  when  our  deficiency  and 
little  progress  in  the  right  way  are  considered. 

Let  us  look  forward  with  submission.  We 
know  not  what  may  occur  this  year,  what  "  cup 
of  bitterness"  may  be  put  into  our  hands;  what 
dark  and  portentous  clouds  may  surround  us  as 
a  nation;  what  changes,  great  and  paralyzing, 
may  be  realized;  what  instances  of  mortality 
may  present  themselves  before  us,  to  sadden  or 
surprise.  Still,  let  us  be  submissive,  unfeignedly 
and  completely  submissive.  No  complaints  must 
be  heard;  no  fretfulness  must  be  indulged;  no 
unyielding  temper  must  be  cherished.  We  must 
bow  to  the  yoke,  submit  to  the  chastisement, 
acquiesce  in  the  Divine  purpose  and  arrange- 
ment. We  must  acknowledge  before  God  that 
all  is  right,  that  all  is  good,  that  all  is  necessary. 

Let  us  look  forward  in  the  true  spirit  of 
prayer.  We  must  commence  the  present  year 
with  a  highly  devotional  temper,  and  that  tem- 
per must  characterize  and  sanctify  us  through- 
out the  year.  It  will  prepare  us  for  every  duty, 
fit  us  for  every  event,  sustain  us  in  every  sorrow, 
and  fortify  and  cheer  us  in  the  prospect  of 
every  change.  If  we  want  to  prosper  this  year 
we  must  pray  more.  Prayer  must  be  distin- 
guished by  greater  intelligence,  fervidness,  point, 


LOOKING  FORWARD. 


171 


comprehensiveness,  frequency,  power.  As  a  com- 
munity, we  should  learn,  especially  from  the 
events  of  the  past  year,  to  abound  more  in 
prayer;  to  cry  more  intensely  and  mightily 
unto  God,  that  he  would  appear,  deliver,  and 
bless.  As  a  nation,  we  are  yet  comparative 
strangers  to  wrestling  and  prevailing  prayer. 

Let  us  look  forward  with  simple  reliance  on 
Divine  agency.  Let  us  implicitly  confide  in  the 
Holy  Spirit,  that  we  shall  be  aided  when  we 
need  succour;  that  our  resources,  mental,  moral, 
and  religious,  will  not  fail;  that  strength  from 
above  will  be  communicated  "  equal  to  our  day" ; 
that  we  shall  be  fitted  for  every  emergency; 
that  we  shall  be  directed  in  every  difficulty; 
that  we  shall  be  shielded  in  every  danger;  that 
we  shall  be  preserved  in  every  hour  of  perilous 
temptation;  that  we  shall  be  consoled  in  every 
situation  of  trial,  and  find  that  God,  our  Saviour, 
is  dispersing  all  our  fears.  This  unhesitating 
reliance  on  Divine  agency  will  be  a  source  of 
exquisite  support  and  comfort  to  us  during  the 
year,  and  will  be  a  powerful  incentive  to  every 
holy  and  important  duty. 

Let  us  look  forward  with  liope:  not  with  de- 
pression— much  less,  with  despondency.  This 
would  be  most  undesirable,  most  ungrateful, 
most  improper,  and  also  most  paralyzing.  God 


172 


LOOKING  FORWARD. 


has  done  great  things  for  us  already,  and  he  will 
do  more,  and  perhaps  greater  and  more  marvel- 
ous still ;  therefore  we  must  hope,  hope  strongly, 
hope  on  continually.  We  must  sow  in  hope, 
plan  in  hope,  pray  in  hope,  labour  in  hope,  sor- 
row in  hope,  wait  on  God  privately  and  publicly 
in  hope — assured  of  this,  that  our  hope  will  not 
be  disappointed.  It  will  be  realized  largely  and 
delightfully,  and  probably  in  a  much  happier 
and  more  glorious  manner  than  we  ever  antici- 
pated, or  could  have  expected;  for  God  loves  to 
dissipate  the  fears,  and  not  only  to  gratify,  but 
to  surpass  the  hopes  of  his  people,  especially 
in  times  of  peculiar  difficulty,  exigency,  and 
trial. 

This  is  the  spirit,  dear  reader,  with  which  we 
should  begin  the  year.  We  should  cherish  no 
other  temper,  exhibit  no  other  principles,  form 
and  carry  out  no  other  resolves.  If  these  are 
our  predominating  sentiments  and  feelings,  the 
present  year  will  be  a  year  of  progress.  It  will 
not  be  one  during  which  we  shall  remain  sta- 
tionary. This  cannot  be  the  case.  We  shall 
pursue  steadily  our  onward  course;  we  shall 
make  decisive  and  noble  advances.  Character 
will  be  more  luminously  and  beautifully  unfolded. 
Our  religious  experience  will  be  marked  by  a 
greater  breadth,  elevation  and  power.    Our  his- 


LOOKING  FORWARD. 


173 


tory,  as  a  nation^  will  be  socially,  morally,  reli- 
giously, much  more  striking  and  encouraging. 
If  the  spirit  we  have  inculcated  be  displayed,  it 
will  be  a  year  of  effort — effort  of  every  kind; 
effort  in  every  department;  effort  for  God;  effort 
for  the  glory  of  Christ  our  Lord;  effort  to  benefit 
and  bless  our  fellow-creatures.  We  shall  deter- 
mine to  labour,  and  not  to  be  indolent — not  to 
trifle.  Our  labour  too  will  be  freely,  vigorous- 
ly, regularly  performed — performed  from  love, 
having  the  highest  objects  in  view. 

If  the  sentiments  we  are  anxious  should  be 
cultivated  are  exemplified,  this  year  will  be  a 
year  of  usefulness.  We  shall  not  plan,  labour, 
strive  together  in  vain.  Prayer  will  be  heard, 
confidence  will  be  honoured,  active  effort  will  be 
crowned  with  success.  Many,  through  us,  will 
receive  a  blessing.  The  year  will  not  pass  with- 
out some  tokens,  and  perhaps  most  significant, 
of  the  Divine  approval  being  furnished  us. 

If  the  temper  recommended  be  everywhere 
exhibited,  it  will  be  a  year  of  happiness — great 
and  exalted  happiness.  "The  peace  of  God" 
will  pervade  the  mind,  the  joy  of  the  gospel  will 
tranquillize  and  animate  the  soul.  We  shall  have 
the  felicity  arising  from  the  Divine  presence  and 
regard;  and,  whatever  the  occurrences,  the  fluc- 
tuations, the  diSiculties,  the  sorrows  of  the  year, 


174  THE  ONE  THING  NEEDFUL. 


we  shall  be  "kept  in  perfect  peace,  staying  the 
mind"  calmly  and  supremely  on  Heaven;  and 
on  the  paternal  wisdom,  benediction,  and  un- 
ceasing care  of  our  God,  our  Benefactor,  our 
Redeemer. 

 ♦ 

THE  ONE  THING  NEEDFUL. 

"One  thing  is  needful.'*  These  are  the  words 
of  Him  who  spake  as  never  man  spake.  If  we 
can  form  to  ourselves  any  conception  of  the 
majesty,  yet  the  benignity — the  mildness,  yet 
the  force  of  our  Lord's  reproof  to  Martha,  let 
us  endeavour  to  lay  it  to  heart. 

He  evidently  contrasted  the  one  indispensa- 
ble object  with  the  many  things  by  which  Mar- 
tha's attention  was  divided,  and  her  temper 
agitated.  The  fault  is  too  common,  even  among 
those  of  whom  we  hope  things  (as  of  her)  that 
accompany  salvation,  to  need  explanation.  Her 
immediate  temptation  to  it  was  much  serving. 
It  is  the  only  instance  in  which  the  family  of 
Lazarus  is  adverted  to  by  any  of  the  first  three 
Evangelists,  and  it  might  be  the  first  occasion 
on  which  our  Lord  was  accompanied  to  Bethany 
by  all  his  disciples.    The  family  was  respect- 


THE  ONE  THING  NEEDFUL. 


175 


able  and  hospitable.  The  Jews  from  the  fes- 
tival at  Jerusalem  crowded  to  see  one  who  was 
raised  from  the  grave.  Much  provision  might 
be  needful,  but  Martha  indulged  needless  anx- 
iety, perhaps,  about"  their  variety,  their  delicacy 
and  their  arrangement.  Is  nothing  like  this 
ever  apparent  at  the  hospitable  meetings  of 
Christian  friends.  A  substantial,  but  more  sim- 
ple entertainment  would,  doubtless,  have  been 
more  acceptable  to  Christ,  and  ought  it  not 
be  so  to  his  people.  Profusion  cannot  but  im- 
pede beneficence.  It  is  unlikely  that  Mary 
would  have  neglected  to  help  her  sister  in  any- 
thing that  was  really  wanted;  and  still  more  so 
if  she  had,  that  our  Saviour  would  have  com- 
mended her.  She  was  imbibing  his  invaluable 
instructions,  while  Martha  was  bustling,  fretting, 
and  complaining  against  her  to  their  dearest 
and  greatest  Friend.  How  must  Martha  have 
been  humbled,  and  Mary  encouraged  by  his 
award. 

Mary,  then,  it  appears,  had  chosen  this  one 
thing  needful,  from  which  her  sister's  attention 
had  been  diverted  by  many  things.  Let  us 
rejoice  that  it  was  not  to  be  taken  from  her; 
for  assuredly  no  more  shall  it  be  taken  from 
any,  who  choose  it  as  their  portion.  But  what 
is  it?    We  cannot,  with  our  Lord's  personal 


176  THE  ONE  THING  NEEDFUL. 

friends  and  followers,  sit  at  his  feet  and  listen 
to  the  gracious  words  that  always  flowed  from 
his  lips.  Neither  tould  any  of  them  at  all  times 
enjoy  that  privilege;  but  Mary's  conduct,  at 
that  time,  was  the  eS*ect  of  her  habitual  choice 
of  the  one  thing  needful,  and  it  is  well  when 
ours  equally  tends  to  the  attainment  of  it. 

Pious  and  learned  men  have  variously  defined 
the  one  thing  needful;  but  the  dijBTerence  are 
those  of  sound,  rather  than  of  sense.  Admitting 
men  to  be  in  a  lost  condition,  salvation  is  the 
one  thing  needful  for  all.  Its  foundation  was 
laid  before  that  of  the  world,  to  which  it  related 
by  God's  election  of  grace,  to  save  sinners 
through  the  sacrifice  of  his  Son,  who,  in  the 
fullness  of  time,  became  incarnate,  gave  himself 
for  us,  to  endure  the  death  of  the  cross,  and 
bore  the  chastisement  of  our  peace,  that  we, 
through  his  stripes  might  be  healed.  But  these 
facts,  like  all  in  the  performance  of  which  we 
have  had  no  share,  can  only  be  beneficial  to  us 
by  the  eff*ect  which  our  belief  of  them  produces 
in  our  mind  and  conduct.  To  this  purpose,  the 
grace  of  God  as  manifested  by  the  sanctifying 
influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  is  no  less  needful 
than  it  was,  as  manifested  by  the  sacrifice  of 
the  Son  of  God  for  the  pardon  of  all  past 
offences.    This,  therefore,  to  each  of  us  is  the 


THE  ONE  THINO  NEEDFUL.  177 


one  thing  needful,  that  the  love  of  God  should 
be  shed  abroad  in  our  hearts  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 
This  drew  Mary  to  the  feet  of  Jesus,  to  listen 
to  his  doctrine;  the  want  of  this  gave  scope  to 
the  cares  and  passions  of  Martha. 

Let  us  try  ourselves  by  this  test.  Have  our 
minds  ever  been  harassed  and  perplexed  by  con- 
troversial reading,  till  the  Scriptures  themselves 
seemed  to  us  either  unintelligible  or  of  doubtful 
authority  ?  What  was  it  that  at  once  banished 
all  our  anxieties  on  the  subject,  and  left  us  as 
incapable  of  doubting  the  truth  of  Scripture 
as  our  own  existence? — the  love  of  God  shed 
abroad  in  our  hearts  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 

In  times  of  imminent  danger,  what  has  raised 
us  above  personal  fear,  and  turned  our  dismay 
into  a  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory?  and 
while  this  has  been  mingled  with  earnest  inter- 
cession for  others  evidently  unfit  for  eternity, 
yet  likely  every  moment,  with  ourselves,  to 
plunge  into  its  abyss,  what  has  assured  us  that 
our  cries  and  tears  for  their  preservation  were 
accepted  of  God  ? — His  love  shed  abroad  in  our 
hearts  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 

In  weeks  of  motionless  confinement  to  a  bed 
of  disease,  what  has  incapacitated  us  to  form  a 
wish  for  relief,  or  for  any  change  from  what  we 
16 


178  THE  ONE  THING  NEEDFUL. 

then  were? — the  love  of  God  shed  abroad  in  our 
hearts  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 

When  overwhelmed  by  sudden  distress,  or  loss 
attended  by  permanent  and  even  irreparable 
damage — prostrated  before  God  in  dismay  and 
terror,  by  the  violence  of  these  unlooked-for 
strokes  of  his  rod — what  has  said,  Peace,  be 
still:  and  immediately  there  was  a  great  calm"? 
Other  things,  while  these  trials  continued,  you 
could  not  be  anxious  about;  no  more  were  you 
about  these,  while  the  love  of  God  was  shed 
abroad  in  your  hearts  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 

But  now,  perhaps,  you  find  your  strength  to 
be  perfect  weakness.  Accumulated  infirmities, 
complicated  diseases,  have  reduced  your  mind 
to  a  state  in  which  it  is  distressingly  agitated; 
when  you  can  hardly  tell  the  cause,  though  its 
efi*ects  in  the  aggravation  of  bodily  diseases  is 
perfectly  felt.  Such  a  state  is,  perhaps,  equally 
beyond  help  from  rational  exertion,  or  friendly 
consolation;  but  it  is  not  beyond  the  reach  of 
the  one  thing  needful.  The  Holy  Ghost  can 
even  then  diffuse  the  love  of  God  in  the  heart, 
and  nothing  more  is  wanted.  Let  things  be  as 
they  may,  this  will  assimilate  earth  to  heaven. 
"  Therefore  being  justified  by  faith,  we  have 
peace  with  God,  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
by  whom  also  we  have  access,  by  faith,  into  the 


SPIRITUAL  ARITHMETIC.  179 


grace  wherein  we  stand,  and  rejoice  in  hope  of 
the  glory  of  God;  and  not  only  so,  but  we  glory 
in  tribulation  also,  knowing  that  tribulation 
worketh  patience,  and  patience  experience,  and 
experience  hope,  and  hope  maketh  not  ashamed/' 
Or  our  hope  of  the  glory  of  God  cannot  be  ill- 
founded,  because  the  love  of  God  is  shed  abroad 
in  our  hearts  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  is  given 
to  us.  We  need,  infinitely  need  this;  we  need 
nothing  besides,  for  it  is  the  one  thing  needful. 

 ♦  

SPIRITUAL  ARITHMETIC. 

"so    TEACH  US    TO    NUMBER    OUR   DAYS    THAT   WE    MAY  APPLY 
OUR  HEARTS  UNTO  WISDOM.'* 

The  science  of  numbers  is  extremely  valuable, 
both  in  the  pursuits  of  philosophy  and  the  busi- 
ness of  secular  life.  It  guides  the  astronomer 
among  the  starry  fields,  and  enables  him  to  cal- 
culate the  magnitude  and  the  distances  of  the 
heavenly  bodies,  and  there  teaches  him  the 
power,  goodness,  and  faithfulness  of  God.  Thus 
God  instructed  Abraham  to  view  the  heavens. 
"And  he  brought  him  forth  abroad,  and  said. 
Look  now  toward  heaven,  and  tell  the  stars,  if 
thou  be  able  to  number  them.  And  he  said 
unto  him,  So  shall  thy  seed  be.    And  he  be- 


180  SPIRITUAL  ARITHMETIC. 


lieved  in  the  Lord  (that  is,  in  his  power,  good- 
ness, and  faithfulness,)  and  he  counted  it  to  him 
for  righteousness." 

But  the  important  science  of  numbers  is  no 
less  applicable  to  all  the  purposes  of  human  life, 
for  all  our  temporal  blessings  are  delivered  out 
to  us  in  number,  weight,  and  measure,  and  none 
more  sparingly  than  our  time;  for  we  never  have 
two  moments,  much  less  days,  together.  Hence 
the  importance  of  this  spiritual  arithmetic,  that 
we  may  "  so  number  our  days,  as  to  apply  our 
hearts  unto  wisdom."  To  apply  our  hearts  unto 
wisdom  is  to  enter  into  the  study  with  zeal  and 
energy,  or  (in  the  English  phrase)  with  all  our 
hearts.  It  is  a  common  expression  with  stu- 
dents, when  they  enter  on  a  subject  of  serious 
difficulty,  that  they  will  apply  their  brains  to  it ; 
but  the  Hebrew  idiom  is  both  more  beautiful 
and  proper — they  applied  their  hearts  to  it. 
Thus  the  wise  man — ''Apply  thine  heart  to 
understanding."  The  heart  is  a  better  tablet 
than  the  brain,  because  it  receives  the  impression 
deeper,  and  retains  it  longer.  ''  My  son,  keep 
my  commandments;  write  them  on  the  table  of 
thine  heart,  and  let  thine  heart  retain  my 
words." 

Now  then  let  us,  with  the  Psalmist,  apply  our 
hearts  to  wisdom,  and  especially  to  this  branch 
of  it — calculating  or  measuring  our  days. 


SPIRITUAL  ARITHMETIC.  181 


Let  US  calculate  the  number  of  our  days.  Let 
us  calculate  their  uncertainty.  Few  as  the  days 
of  man  are,  how  very  few  of  our  race  come  up 
to  the  limited  number  of  three-score  years  and 
ten.  Narrow  as  is  our  span,  how  few  fill  up 
that  space.  The  majority  of  our  race  die  in 
infancy — at  least  in  immature  age.  Our  ceme- 
teries contain  cofiins  of  a  span  long,  and  there 
is  no  age  within  a  century  that  is  not  inscribed 
on  one  or  the  other  of  our  tombstones;  and  of 
the  living,  we  may  say  with  Watts, 

Where  is  the  man  that  draws  his  breath 
Safe  from  disease,  secure  from  death." 

Let  US  estimate  the  importance  of  our  days, 
both  as  compared  with  the  work  assigned  to 
them,  and  the  end  to  which  they  lead.  We  are 
sinners,  and  these  are  the  days  of  penitence  and 
pardon.  We  are  ignorant  creatures,  and  these 
are  the  days  allotted  for  our  instruction.  We 
are  labourers,  and  this  is  the  period  allotted  for 
our  work — "Whatsoever  thy  hand  findeth  to 
do,''  says  Solomon,  "do  it  with  all  thy  might;" 
and  greater  than  Solomon  hath  said,  "Work 
while  it  is  day,  for  the  night  cometh  when  no 
man  can  work."  We  are  to  work  for  ourselves, 
for  we  are  commanded  to  work  out  our  own  sal- 
vation with  fear  and  trembling,  knowing  that  it 
16* 


182  SPIRITUAL  ARITHMETIC. 


is  God  who  worketh  in  us  of  his  own  good  plea- 
sure. We  are  to  work  for  God,  knowing  that 
we  shall  not  labour  in  vain  for  the  Lord. 

We  are  to  work  for  our  fellow-creatures,  to 
be  not  weary  in  well-doing,  knowing  that  in  due 
time,  we  shall  reap  if  we  faint  not.  But  time  is 
to  us  chiefly  important  as  it  relates  to  eternity; 
it  is,  indeed,  a  narrow  isthmus,  but  it  connects 
us  with  eternity.  "  I  paint  for  immortality,"  said 
a  celebrated  artist,  and  thus  may  the  Christian 
say  in  all  that  he  does.  He  repents,  believes, 
and  for  eternity,  and  if  he  gives,  he  gives  for  eter- 
nity ;  for  though  it  be  but  a  cup  of  cold  water,  the 
Judge  himself  will  not  forge  it  when  he  ascends 
his  throne.  The  box  of  ointment  bestowed  on 
Jesus  by  Mary  of  Bethany,  met  the  censure  of 
more  than  one  of  the  apostles,  but  received  the 
plaudit  of  their  Lord,  ''Verily,  I  say  unto  you, 
wheresoever  this  gospel  shall  be  preached  in 
the  whole  world,  there  shall  also  this,  that  this 
woman  hath  done,  be  told,  for  a  memorial  of 
her."  It  has  already  been  echoed  through  the 
known  world. 

One  word  more — we  need  a  teacher  in  this 
important  science.  God  only  teacheth  us  to 
profit,  and  there  is  none  teacheth  like  him.  So 
teach  us,  0  Lord,  to  number  our  days  that  we 
may  apply  our  hearts  unto  wisdom." 


SWEET  MEDITATION. 


188 


MY  MEDITATION  OF  HIM  SHALL  BE 
SWEET. 

Thus  David  sung,  and  my  soul  shall  utter  her 
responses  to  his  harp.  Sweet  indeed  should  be 
my  meditation  on  that  Being,  who  comprises  in 
himself  all  that  is  venerable  in  antiquity,  what- 
ever is  grand  in  dignity;  all  that  is  mighty  in 
power,  lovely  in  beauty,  or  tender  in  grace; 
while  He  is  to  me  the  parent  of  being,  the  donor 
of  property,  and  the  spring  of  bliss. 

At  the  commencement  of  a  new  year,  I  cannot 
but  muse  on  Him  who  at  first  gave  me  this  being, 
which  he  continually  renews.  But,  0 !  what 
awe  and  wonder  must  mingle  with  the  sweetness 
of  my  reflections  on  the  name — Creator  !  For 
it  reminds  me  that  there  was  a  time,  and  that 
not  very  far  distant,  when  I  was  nothing;  I  was 
not;  I  never  had  been  in  existence!  A  vast 
eternity  had  rolled  away  without  me.  Ere  Time 
indeed  had  begun  his  first  new  year,  God  had 
an  eternity  above.  But  even  when  he  had 
uttered  the  almighty  fiat^  and  countless  worlds, 
with  all  their  diversified  inhabitants,  had  started 
up,  and  echoed  to  his  creative  voice,  "  Here  we 


181 


SWEET  MEDITATION. 


are,  to  serve  and  please;''  and  when  they  glori- 
fied him  for  hundreds  and  thousands  of  years,  I 
was  not  among  them,  but  all  was  to  me  the  blank, 
mysterious  night  of  nonexistence.  At  length 
arrived  the  appointed  moment,  to  me  big  with 
importance,  when  I  was  to  take  my  turn  of 
entrance  into  being;  and  Omnipotence  bade  me 
overleap  the  vast,  the  infinite  space  between  an 
eternal  nothing  and  this  wondrous  being  which 
I  now  possess.  ''He  spake,  and  it  was  done," 
and  here  I  am ;  and  though  an  addition  to  His 
works,  inconceivably  small  compared  with  their 
magnitude  and  extent,  yet  nothing  short  of 
Omnipotence  could  have  formed  me.  And  vast 
must  have  been  the  design  he  had  in  view  when 
employing  infinite  attributes  to  form  my  mortal 
frame  and  its  immortal  inhabitant.  But  while 
my  heart  throbs  with  awe  at  itself,  its  machine- 
ry and  motions,  and  my  eye  flashes  admiration 
at  my  hands,  when  I  hold  them  up  to  the  light, 
and  see  the  purple  hue  of  the  blood  which 
flows  in  innumerable  channels — how  simple  and 
easy  is  that  machinery  to  Him  that  made  it, 
and  is  every  day  repeating  the  same  process  in 
ten  thousand  instances  and  ten  thousand  forms! 
Mighty  Being!  what  streams  of  creative  influ- 
ence are  incessantly  flowing  from  thee,  through 
every  world  thy  hands  have  formed! 


SWEET  MEDITATION. 


185 


But  my  soul,  this  ethereal  principle,  the  intel- 
lectual inhabitant  and  guide  of  this  material 
frame,  with  what  reverence  and  delight  must 
thou  meditate  on  the  parent  Spirit  that  gave 
thee  birth  and  being !  If  none  but  the  Omnipo- 
tent could  form  one  grain  of  sand,  or  spire  of 
grass,  how  glorious  were  the  exertions  of  that 
Omnipotence  when  it  formed  a  spirit  whose  na- 
ture rises  high  above  gross  matter ;  whose  mys- 
terious power  of  thought  can  dart  through  the 
vast  regions  swarming  with  glorious  worlds; 
whose  conscience  estimating  moral  character, 
weighing  actions,  and  anticipating  consequences, 
darts  forward  to  a  whole  eternity  of  bliss  or 
woe ! 

Father  of  Spirits!  couldst  thou  create  not 
merely  one  such  invisible,  intangible  being,  with 
all  its  mysterious  nature,  and  all  its  mighty 
powders,  but  have  myriads  of  such  productions 
spring  up  at  thy  voice  to  surround  thy  throne, 
and  partake  of  so  glorious  a  resemblance  of 
thee,  and  shall  not  these  spirits  adore  thee? 
But,  while  I  adore,  I  tremble  at  the  giddy 
height  to  which  I  am  exalted,  and  I  repeat 
with  awe  the  dread  sounds — soul — rational — 
accountable — immortal.  For,  ah  I  a  sad  con- 
sciousness of  sin  reminds  me  how  much  these 
privileges  have  been  perverted,  and  how  com- 


186 


SWEET  MEDITATION. 


pletely  they  might  turn  to  curses.  If  I  attempt 
to  deprecate  thy  wrath,  due  to  sin,  I  shudder 
lest  I  should  seem  to  deny  the  enormity  of 
offence  committed  against  such  a  Being,  whose 
claims  on  my  reverence,  obedience,  and  affec- 
tion, are  attested  by  the  thundering  and  united 
voice  of  creation.  But  here  my  meditations 
take  their  sweetest  turn.  I  can  own  all  the  ex- 
tent of  my  guilt.  I  can  admit  how  much  I  have 
deserved  the  horrors  of  thy  displeasure,  and  yet 
can  plead  exemption.  For  the  mysteriously 
grand  Creator,  the  inflexibly  righteous  moral 
Governor  has  become  the  condescending,  the 
compassionate  Redeemer.  Then,  such  a  Saviour 
is  mighty  to  save — is  mighty  to  save  as  he  was 
to  create,  or  would  have  been  to  destroy !  For 
when  that  Being  who  could  bid  worlds  swim  in 
infinite  space,  and  maintain  them  all  by  a  simple 
volition  of  his  infinite  mind,  employs  the  same 
infinity  to  recover,  to  save,  and  to  bless,  what 
may  not  be  expected  from  his  grace  ? 

My  heart  reposes  on  thy  word,  thy  testimony 
of  pardon  and  life  through  Christ.  My  soul 
feels  that  she  rests  on  the  same  basis  on  which 
the  universe  is  upheld,  and  her  peace,  like  her 
being  and  immortality,  passes  all  understanding. 
But  my  meditation  is  the  more  sweet  when  I 
reflect  that  thou  hast  not  only  pardoned  me, 


SWEET  MEDITATION. 


187 


but  entered  into  a  friendly  covenant  with  me, 
and  hast  bound  thyself  by  oath  never  to  cease 
from  doing  me  good.  I  look  back  through 
another  year,  and  see  thy  faithfulness  to  a  cove- 
nant ordered  in  all  things  and  sure,"  and  muse 
on  all  thy  loving-kindness  and  thy  truth,  till  my 
heart  grows  warm  within  me,  and  my  devotion 
burns,  to  think  that  all  this  vast  infinity  of  being 
and  perfection  that  dwells  with  thee  is  all  my 
own;  that  everything  which  the  creation  dis- 
plays of  activity  and  eflSciency,  of  might  and 
skill,  of  beneficence  and  grandeur,  is  all  pledged 
to  me  to  be  forthcoming  in  every  need,  and  to 
be  employed  throughout  eternity  to  make  me 
blessed.  "0  God,  it  is  too  much!"  I  am  ready 
to  exclaim,  but  I  am  checked  by  thy  voice,  that 
says,  "  Too  much,  indeed,  it  might  be  for  thee 
to  expect  or  receive,  but  not  too  much  for  me  to 
give,  for  I  delight  to  do  exceeding  abundantly 
above  all  you  can  ask  or  think." 

If,  then,  my  meditations  on  thy  past  dealings 
are  sweet,  so  shall  be  my  musings  over  that 
futurity  which  thou  hast  spread  out  before  me. 
Eternity  is  so  grand  that  it  is  awful  from  its 
vastness.  I  shrink,  and  almost  think  it  gloomy 
to  have  the  prospect  of  living  for  ever,  though  I 
feel  that  my  soul  shudders  at  annihilation  as  a 
dread  abyss.    But  when  I  think  of  eternity  with 


188  WORK  IN  MY  VINEYARD. 


Thee,  it  is  delightful.  With  thy  society,  and 
that  of  thy  beloved  friends,  I  shall  know  no 
solitude.  By  thine  infinite  resources,  modes  of 
enjoyment  shall  be  found  for  me  which  will 
leave  no  vacuum  in  my  being  or  my  bliss;  and 
through  eternity  it  shall  be  sweet  to  meditate 
that,  upheld  by  thee  I  shall  never  lose  myself, 
my  holiness,  my  heaven;  and  0,  still  higher 
transport,  never  lose  my  God ! 

 » 

SON,  GO  WORK  TO-DAY  IN  MY  VINEYARD. 

There  is  something  very  tender  and  touching 
in  these  words.  How  it  should  reach,  and  move, 
and  melt  the  hearts  of  our  young  men,  for  it  is 
chiefly  designed  for  them. 

Young  man,  hear  the  voice  of  God,  and  live. 
Perhaps  you  inquire,  "Am  I  personally  ad- 
dressed, and  does  God  speak  to  me?''  Yes,  the 
address  is  personal — it  is  authoritative — it  is 
affectionate.  How  are  you  affected?  Are  you 
alarmed?  Are  you  penitent?  Are  you  submis- 
sive, and  obedient  to  the  heavenly  call  ?  What 
say  you?  0  let  your  language  be  that  of  the 
youthful  Samuel — "Speak,  Lord,  for  thy  ser- 
vant heareth."  Let  yours  be  the  promptitude 
of  the  enraptured  Isaiah — "Here  am  I,  send 


WORK  IN  MY  VINEYARD.  189 

me."    If  such  be  the  correspondent  feelings  of 
your  heart,  and  such  your  readiness  to  hear  what 
the  Lord  shall  speak,  you  will  naturally  ask, 
"Am  I  in  the  path  of  duty — in  the  way  of  sal- 
vation?  If  not,  where  shall  I  discover  it?"  The 
reply  is  at  hand,  "Son,  go  work  in  my  vine- 
yard."   There  is  the  place  of  labour,  the  sphere 
of  exertion,  and  the  post  of  honour.   If  you  look 
at  your  relative  connections  and  your  consequent 
duties;  at  your  situation  in  society,  and  the 
obligations  which  it  necessarily  involves,  you 
will  see  at  once  where  God  hath  fixed  the 
bounds  of  your  habitation.   It  is  a  kind  of  social 
or  providential  vineyard,  where  your  talents  and 
virtues  are  put  to  the  test,  and  called  into  exer- 
cise.   But  you  have  read  of  another  and  yet 
more  interesting  sphere  of  exertion ;  God  has  a 
Church  in  the  world — a  vineyard  in  a  very 
fruitful  hill ;  "for  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord  of 
Hosts  is  the  house  of  Israel."    Apply  then  for 
immediate  admission  into  this  sacred  enclosure. 
Go,  and  approach  to  this  vineyard  without  delay, 
and  as  you  proceed  you  will  hear  a  heavenly 
whisper — "This  is  the  way,  walk  ye  in  it." 
Still  press  onward,  "asking  the  way  to  Zion  with 
your  face  thitherward,"  and  you  shall  hear  the 
great  Teacher  sent  from  God  say  to  you — "I 
17 


190 


WORK  IN  MY  VINEYARD. 


am  the  door;  by  me  if  any  man  enter  in  he 
shall  be  saved.'* 

If,  after  having  knocked,  the  door  of  mercy  be 
opened  before  you,  it  will  be  natural  for  you  to 
pause,  and  inquire  with  the  jailor,  "  What  must  I 
do  to  be  saved?"  You  will  find  answers  adapted 
both  to  your  reason  and  inclination — Son,  go 
work  in  my  vineyard,  and  believe  on  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  You  will  also  perceive  that  repent- 
ance is  a  work,  as  the  commands  of  the  gospel 
are,  ^'  Repent  and  be  converted ;  bring  forth  fruits 
meet  for  repentance."  You  must  also  perceive 
that  whatever  relates  to  personal  and  progressive 
holiness,  is  a  part  of  the  work  of  this  vineyard. 
The  grace  that  bringeth  salvation  teacheth  us  to 
live  soberly,  righteously,  and  godly,  to  be  per- 
fecting holiness  in  the  fear  of  God,  and  to  follow 
peace  and  holiness,  without  which  no  man  can 
see  the  Lord.  You  will  likewise  find  that  the 
work  and  labours  of  love  are  required  of  you. 
Your  fellow-creatures  have  numerous  and  urgent 
claims  upon  you;  the  household  of  faith  and  the 
great  family  of  mankind  are  always  presenting 
objects  which  serve  to  cherish  a  spirit  of  en- 
larged benevolence  and  commisseration ;  and  as 
one  has  well  observed — However  inferior  onr 
stations  or  slender  our  abilities,  we  have  all  one 
talent.    IIow  have  we  employed  it?    We  have 


WORK  IN  MY  VINEYARD.  191  ^ 


all  had  some  means  and  opportunities  of  useful- 
ness. What  brand  have  we  plucked  from  the 
fire?  What  naked  wretch  have  we  clothed? 
What  child  of  ignorance  have  we  instructed? 
In  what  instance  have  we  resembled  Him  who 
went  about  doing  good?  who  came  not  to  be 
ministered  unto,  but  to  minister,  and  to  give  his 
life  a  ransom  for  many. 

Do  you,  indeed,  anxiously  ask  whether  the 
King's  business  requires  haste,  and  what  is  the 
proper  season  for  you  to  go  to  work  in  the  vine- 
yard? Reason,  and  conscience,  and  revelation 
reply.  To-day.  The  command  of  the  father  to 
his  son  was  doubtless  given  in  the  morning,  and 
you  are  in  the  morning  of  your  short  existence, 
and  is  not  this  the  fittest  season  for  active,  la- 
borious, self-denying  exertion.  Whatever  claims 
your  parents  or  relatives,  the  church  or  society 
have  upon  you,  listen  to  them,  weigh  them,  dis- 
charge them  to-day.  With  respect  to  your  own 
interest,  consider  that  now  is  the  accepted  time, 
now  is  the  day  of  salvation.  God's  language 
is,  ''To-day  if  you  will  hear  my  voice,  harden 
not  your  hearts."  And  why  to-day  ?  Because 
the  day  of  life  is  short,  and  there  is  much  to  be 
done;  because  it  is  uncertain,  and  much  may 
be  neglected,  and  because  the  night  cometh 
wherein  no  man  can  work.    Carpe  diem^  you 


192         REFLECTIONS  ON  PSALM  LXV.  11. 


know,  is  the  poet's  advice,  and  which  Dr.  John- 
son has  thus  happily  paraphrased : 

Catch  then,  0  catch  the  fleeting  hour; 
Improve  each  moment  as  it  flies; 
Life's  a  short  summer — man  a  flower; 
He  dies,  alas!  how  soon  he  dies!" 

Do  you  want  motive  and  encouragement?  Do 
you  pant  for  grace,  and  aspire  after  glory? 
You  shall  reap  if  you  faint  not.  He  that  asketh 
receiveth,  he  that  seeketh  iSndeth,  for  the  Lord 
is  unto  all  that  call  upon  him,  and  he  hath 
never  said  to  the  seed  of  Jacob,  "Seek  ye  me 
in  vain.''  0,  my  young  friend,  the  desire  of 
my  heart  is,  that  He  who  has  granted  you  a  new 
year,  may  bestow  a  new  heart  and  a  right  spirit 
upon  you,  that  the  day-star  may  arise  upon  your 
soul  as  the  opening  dawn,  and  the  blessed  pre- 
sage of  everlasting  day. 

God  speaks  now  to  every  young  man,  saying, 
"Son,  go  work  to-day  in  my  vineyard." 

♦ 

REFLECTIONS  ON  PSALM  LXV.  11. 

"thou  crownest  the  year  with  thy  goodness." 

It  is  recorded  of  the  wicked,  that  they  will  not 
behold  the  operations  of  Jehovah's  hand;  when 


REFLECTIONS  ON  PSALM  LXV.  11.  193 


his  judgments  are  abroad  in  the  earth,  they 
will  not  see;  and  when  his  mercy  is  eminently 
displayed,  they  will  remain  alike  insensible; 
but  those  who  are  savingly  enlightened  from 
above,  see  something  of  his  glory  in  all  the 
works  of  nature;  they  hear  his  voice  in  every 
event  of  his  providence ;  as  affectionate  children, 
they  tremble  when  he  frowns,  they  rejoice  when 
his  glory  is  made  manifest. 

Sentiments  of  this  kind  appear  to  have  im- 
pressed the  mind  of  the  Psalmist,  when  he 
uttered  these  words.  He  celebrates  the  awful 
justice  and  the  infinite  compassion  of  his  Hea- 
venly Father  in  the  former  part  of  this  Psalm, 
and  then  sweetly  concludes  with  these  words : 
''Thou  crownest  the  year  with  thy  goodness; 
and  thy  paths  drop  fatness.  They  drop  upon 
the  pastures  of  the  wilderness:  and  the  little 
hills  rejoice  on  every  side.  The  pastures  are 
clothed  with  flocks;  the  valleys  also  are  covered 
over  with  corn;  they  shout  for  joy,  they  also 
sing." 

May  we  not  take  up  the  words  with  ad- 
miration and  gratitude,  when  we  review  the 
mercies  of  the  past  year?  At  its  commence- 
ment the  clouds  appeared  to  gather  in  blackness 
all  around  us;  we  were  ready  to  fear,  lest  we 
should  experience  cleanness  of  teeth  in  all  our 
17* 


194       REFLECTIONS  ON  PSALM  LXV.  11. 


streets;  the  sword  of  war,  God's  sore  judg- 
ment, hung  heavy  over  our  land,  and  peace 
appeared  afar  off;  and  yet,  in  the  midst  of 
deserved  wrath,  our  God  has  remembered  mercy; 
he  has  restored  unto  us  this  invaluable  blessing, 
and  answered  the  prayers  of  his  people.  0! 
how  great  is  his  goodness!  He  has  also  given 
unto  us  an  abundance  of  the  fruits  of  the 
earth!  He  has  caused  our  fields  to  stand 
thick  with  corn,  and  our  valleys  to  laugh  and 
sing !  He  has  literally  crowned  the  year  with 
goodness. 

But  let  us  pursue  the  subject  still  further,  and 
behold  his  goodness  in  a  spiritual  point  of  view: 
First,  as  it  respects  our  own  souls.  How  many 
of  our  fellow-sinners  have  been  called  to  appear 
at  the  bar  of  God,  altogether  unprepared,  with- 
out an  interest  in  the  Kedeemer's  blood;  and 
who  are  now  suffering  the  vengeance  of  eternal 
fire,  without  hope  of  mercy,  while  we  are  per- 
mitted to  continue  under  the  joyful  sound 
of  salvation!  "Bless  the  Lord,  0  our  souls, 
and  forget  not  all  his  benefits,  who  crown- 
eth  us  with  loving-kindness,  and  with  tender 
mercies.'' 

Again,  let  us  behold  his  goodness,  as  mani- 
fested to  the  Church  at  large  since  the  com- 
mencement of  the  past  year.  His  glorious  gospel 


REFLECTIONS  PN  PSALM  LXV.  11.  195 


has  been  extending  its  benign  influences;  many 
sinners  have  felt  its  quickening  power,  who  were 
heretofore  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins;  new 
temples  have  been  erected  for  the  worship  of  the 
true  God,  where  the  god  of  this  world  appeared 
to  reign  triumphant;  benighted  villages  have 
been  visited  with  the  light  of  life;  fresh  labour- 
ers have  been  sent  forth  into  the  gospel-harvest; 
missionaries  have  been  preserved  amid  surround- 
ing dangers  in  various  parts  of  the  globe,  while 
peace  attends  our  Israel.  May  we  not  exclaim, 
with  the  admiring  psalmist,  "Thou,  0  Lord, 
hast  crowned  the  year  with  thy  goodness 
What  sentiments  of  gratitude,  what  ardent  zeal, 
what  activity  in  his  service,  ought  these  things 
to  enkindle  in  every  one  who  feels  a  real  regard 
for  the  glory  of  God  his  Saviour,  and  the  eternal 
interests  of  his  fellow-men! 

What  a  ground  of  consolation,  also,  is  the 
goodness  of  a  covenant  God  to  every  real  be- 
liever, when  he  considers  that  the  God  of  pro- 
vidence and  of  grace  is  his  God,  who  will  crown 
with  everlasting  blessedness  the  acceptable  year 
of  his  redeemed,  and  bring  them  all  to  his  own 
right  hand,  where  his  goodness  will  inspire  new 
songs  of  praise  for  ever  and  ever! 


196 


WHAT  IS  YOUR  LIFE? 


WHAT  IS  YOUR  LIFE  ? 

How  much  is  included  in  this  short  and  simple 
inquiry?  It  refers  to  matters  of  the  deepest 
solemnity,  and  of  the  most  thrilling  interest — 
matters  with  which  all  are  in  some  measure 
acquainted ;  but  which,  alas !  very  few  ade- 
quately understand,  or  properly  feel.  How 
necessary  is  it  that  we  should  be  taught  of  God, 
taught  by  his  providence,  his  word,  and  his 
Spirit,  ere  we  can  form  a  just  estimate  of  life 
in  general,  or  of  our  own  lives  in  particular. 
Let  us  then  unite  with  the  psalmist,  in  the  peti- 
tion, "  So  teach  us  to  number  our  days  that  we 
may  apply  our  hearts  unto  wisdom." 

Different  answers  may  be  given  to  the  inquiry, 
"What  is  life?" 

Life  is  the  mysterious  union  and  cooperation 
of  soul  with  body,  which  originates  in  Almighty 
wisdom,  and  is  maintained  by  Almighty  power. 

"And  the  Lord  God  formed  man  of  the  dust 
of  the  ground,  and  breathed  into  his  nostrils  the 
breath  of  life;  and  man  became  a  living  soul." 
Such  is  the  account  of  the  origin  of  life,  with 
which  we  are  furnished  in  the  word  of  God.  How 
the  tw^o  component  parts  of  human  existence 


WHAT  IS  YOUR  LIFE? 


197 


act  and  react  upon  each  other,  we  cannot  tell. 
How  the  dissolution  of  the  connection  now  sub- 
sisting between  them  causes  death,  we  know  not. 
Certain  it  is,  in  whatever  obscurity  the  matter 
may  be  involved,  that  all  life  must  be  traced 
directly  to  God.  He  is  self-existent — the  only 
living  God — the  Author  of  all  vitality  in  heaven 
and  on  earth.  Every  living  creature,  from  the 
archangel  before  the  throne  to  the  meanest 
insect  found  in  this  lower  world,  lives  and  moves 
in  God.  Either  must  we  admit  this  great  truth, 
^  or  maintain  that  creatures  owe  their  existence 
entirely  to  themselves — a  notion  which  is  at  once 
manifestly  irrational  and  awfully  dangerous,  in- 
volving not  only  scepticism  with  all  its  absurdi- 
ties, but  also  atheism  with  all  its  horrors. 

Life  is  a  divine  gift,  which  is  held  entirely  by 
the  forbearance  and  long-suffering  of  God. 

Scarcely  had  men  begun  to  live,  when  they 
rendered  themselves  liable  to  death.  "Thou 
shalt  surely  die,''  was  the  threatening  attached 
to  the  test  of  obedience,  which  God  was  pleased 
to  appoint  to  our  first  parents.  "Dust  thou  art, 
and  unto  dust  thou  shalt  return,"  was  the  sen- 
tence passed  upon  them  and  upon  all  their  pos- 
terity, immediately  after  the  fall.  And  now, 
whether  we  look  at  the  human  race  at  large,  or 
at  the  individuals  of  whom  the  great  family  of 


198 


WHAT  IS  YOUR  LIFE? 


man  consists,  we  behold  those  who,  not  only  in 
consequence  of  original  guilt,  but  also  of  actual 
transgressions,  are  exposed  to  the  righteous  dis- 
pleasure of  God.  The  sentence  is  passed — the 
execution  of  it  only  is  delayed.  Alas !  how  true 
it  is,  that  "because  sentence  against  an  evil 
work  is  not  executed  speedily,  therefore  the 
heart  of  the  sons  of  men  is  fully  set  in  them  to 
do  evil." 

Life  is  the  only  time  in  which  men  have 
any  opportunity  of  beginning  to  love  and  serve 
God. 

"  The  grave  cannot  praise  thee ;  death  cannot 
celebrate  thee;  the  living,  the  living,  he  shall 
praise  thee."  It  is  in  this  life  that  we  must 
acquire  the  knowledge  of  God,  of  Christ,  of 
heaven.  If  now  we  remain  ignorant  of  the  way 
of  salvation,  unwilling  to  embrace  the  gospel, 
we  must  endure  eternal  death.  Solemn  con- 
sideration !  0  that  it  were  powerfully  impressed 
on  every  heart — ''Now  is  the  accepted  time,  7iow 
is  the  day  of  salvation." 

Great  God,  on  what  a  slender  thread 

Hang  everlasting  things! 
The  eternal  state  of  all  the  dead 
Upon  life's  feeble  strings!" 

Life  is  a  scene  of  mingled  pain  and  pleasure, 


WHAT  IS  YOUR  LIFE? 


199 


in  which  joy  and  sorrow  are  generally  found  to 
be  mixed  together. 

Many  are  the  sources  of  enjoyment  which  a 
wise  and  gracious  God  has  been  pleased  to  pro- 
vide for  his  creatures.  We  repudiate  the  notion, 
so  insulting  to  God,  that  "  man  was  made  to 
mourn."  Doubtless  he  does  mourn,  but  it  is 
jjjjpt  because  he  is  a  creature,  but  because  he  is 
a  sinful  creature;  and  the  effects  of  sin  are  so 
sad,  that  if  we  look  abroad  on  the  world,  we  dis- 
cover the  whole  creation  groaning  and  travailing 
in  pain,  and  even  the  people  of  God  enduring 
affliction,  often  of  the  most  perplexing  and  try- 
ing kind.  Can  we  wonder  if,  under  the  pressure 
of  bodily  and  mental,  personal  and  relative  trou- 
ble, the  child  of  God  is  prompted  to  say,  ''I 
loathe  it;  I  would  not  live  alway.'' 

Life  is  an  existence  which  is,  at  best,  very 
brief,  and  must  soon  be  surrendered. 

In  estimating  the  length  of  human  life,  we 
have  only  to  glance  at  eternity.  What  a  dis- 
parity is  there  between  the  few  years  of  which 
our  mortal  life  is  made  up,  and  the  inconceiv- 
able, immeasurable  duration  before  us.  The 
shortness  of  life  is  often  declared  and  depicted 
in  the  word  of  God;  the  vapour,  the  dream,  the 
shadow,  represent  its  fleeting,  evanescent  cha- 
racter.   The  leaf,  the  grass,  the  flower  of  the 


200 


WHAT  IS  YOUR  LIFE? 


field  prefigure  its  frail  and  brief  existence.  The 
shuttle,  the  post,  the  tale  that  is  told,  exhibit 
its  swift  and  rapid  flight.  How  true  it  is,  that 
''man  who  is  born  of  woman,  is  of  few  days." 
"  The  days  of  our.  years  are  three-score  years 
and  ten;  and  if,  by  reason  of  strength,  they  be 
four-score  years,  yet  is  their  strength  labour 
and  sorrow;  for  it  is  soon  cut  ofi*,  and  we  fly 
away." 

Life  is  a  privilege,  the  continuance  of  which 
is  altogether  precarious  and  uncertain. 

We  know  not  what  a  day,  an  hour,  a  moment 
may  bring  forth.  An  impenetrable  veil  shrouds 
the  future  from  our  view.  The  precise  time, 
and  the  exact  circumstances  of  our  departure 
hence,  God  knows;  but  these  are  secret  things, 
which  belong  only  to  God.  The  shafts  of  the 
king  of  terrors  are  directed  indiscriminately  at 
the  young  and  the  old,  the  rich  and  the  poor. 
There  is  no  distinction,  no  discharge,  no  escape 
in  this  warfare.  Death  reigns  over  all  men; 
soon  must  we  die. 

Our  life  contains  a  thousand  springs, 

And  dies  if  one  be  gone; 
Strange  that  a  harp  of  thousand  strings 

Should  keep  in  tune  so  long." 

Life  is  the  precursor  to  the  awful  solemnities 
of  death,  and  judgment,  and  eternity. 


WHAT  IS  YOUR  LIFE? 


201 


"It  is  appointed  unto  men  once  to  die,  and 
after  death  the  judgment."  On  completion  of 
our  earthly  career,  we  must  pass  through  the 
valley  of  the  shadow  of  death.  The  judgment 
will  soon  follow,  solemn  in  its  circumstances, 
universal  in  its  objects,  righteous  in  its  proceed- 
ings, eternal  in  its  determinations.  "Behold, 
the  Judge  standeth  before  the  door !"  And  then 
we  must  enter  on  heaven,  with  all  its  ineffable 
bliss,  or  on  hell,  with  all  its  unutterable  woe. 
To  those  who  lived  to  God,  who  died  in  Christ, 
it  will  be  said,  "Come,  ye  blessed."  To  those 
who  neglected  and  despised  the  Saviour,  and 
lived  according  to  the  course  of  this  world,  it 
will  be  said,  "Depart,  ye  cursed."  "These 
shall  go  away  into  everlasting  punishment,  but 
the  righteous  into  life  eternal." 

May  the  people  of  God,  when  they  review 
that  part  of  life  which  is  passed,  when  they  con- 
sider the  claims  of  that  period  of  life  in  which 
they  are  at  present  placed,  and  when,  with  be- 
coming resignation  to  the  will  of  God,  they 
anticipate  that  portion  of  life  which  yet  remains, 
be  prompted  to  abasement,  to  self-examination, 
to  fresh  energy  in  the  divine  life.  "Now  it  is 
high  time  to  awake  out  of  sleep;  for  now  is  our 
salvation  nearer  than  when  we  believed." 

May  the  careless  and  the  impenitent,^ amid 
18 


202  HOW  LONG  HAVE  I  TO  LIVE? 

their  indifference  and  unbelief,  be  led  to  ponder 
the  warnings  and  the  threatenings  contained  in 
the  word  of  God;  to  reflect  on  the  folly  of  pro- 
crastination ;  to  consider  the  necessity  of  instant 
dedication  to  God,  of  immediate  repentance. 
"  Say  unto  them.  As  I  live,  saith  the  Lord  God, 
I  have  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  the  wicked; 
but  that  the  wicked  turn  from  his  way  and  live. 
Turn  ye,  turn  ye,  from  your  evil  ways,  for  why 
will  ye  die?" 

♦  

HOW  LONG  HAVE  I  TO  LIVE? 

2  Samuel  xix.  34. 

What  a  solemn  interrogation  is  this,  and  how 
impossible  is  it  for  any  created  being  to  answer 
the  inquiry!  No  man  on  earth,  no  angel  in 
heaven,  can  tell  how  long  I  have  to  live,  or  how 
long  you  have  to  live;  but  were  I  endued  with 
a  spirit  of  prophecy,  and  could  I  tell  how  long  a 
fellow  mortal  has  to  live,  with  what  unspeakable 
anxiety  would  the  question  be  propounded  by 
such  as  are  now  living  in  a  state  of  perfect  indif- 
ference and  insensibility. 

That  young  man  who  has  spent  another  year 
in  the  service  of  Satan,  and  who  knows  in  his 


HOW  LONG  HAVE  I  TO  LIVE? 


203 


own  conscience,  that  if  called  suddenly  away, 
he  must  sink  to  eternal  death,  with  what  ardent 
solicitude  would  he  inquire,  "  How  long  have  I 
to  live?"  That  parent,  who  looks  with  tremb- 
ling anxiety  upon  a  numerous  offspring,  and  who 
is  endeavouring  to  amass  an  abundance  of  earthly 
treasure  for  them  in  this  world,  forgetful  of  the 
next,  with  what  emotion  would  he  propose  the 
same  inquiry,  "How  long  have  I  to  live?"  And 
even  the  old  man  who  has  nearly  filled  his  days, 
who  is  covered  with  grey  hairs,  and  has  one  foot 
in  the  grave — even  he,  too,  though  he  is  con- 
scious it  cannot  be  long,  would  come  forward 
with  the  same  inquiry,  "  How  long  have  I  to 
live?"  This  is  a  suitable  question  with  which 
to  commence  a  new  period  of  our  mortal  exist- 
ence. It  affords  a  suitable  subject  of  meditation 
whenever  death  enters  our  families,  our  sanc- 
tuaries, or  the  vicinity  where  we  reside ;  and  it 
is  a  subject  of  universal  interest — it  comes  home 
to  every  character  and  to  every  heart. 

Good  old  Barzillai  was  a  very  aged  man,  even 
four-score  years  old,  when  he  asked  the  prophet 
*'How  long  have  I  to  live?"  And  he  seems  to 
have  no  other  desire  than  to  return  and  die 
amongst  his  friends  in  his  own  city,  and  to  be 
buried  by  the  grave  of  his  father  and  his  mother. 
All  this  some  may  say,  is  but  natural,  very 


204 


HOW  LONG  HAVE  I  TO  LIVE? 


natural,  in  a  man  who  had  so  far  exceeded  the 
usual  boundary  of  human  life,  but  calculating 
according  to  his  age,  we  may  yet  live  more  than 
half  a  century  in  the  world.  This  is  indeed  pos- 
sible; the  man  of  thirty  may  say  so,  but  let  it 
be  remembered,  nothing  can  be  more  unreason- 
able than  not  to  distinguish  between  possibility 
and  probability.  Can  you,  in  your  own  con- 
science, believe  this  likely  to  be  the  case.  Let 
us  consult  our  own  observation ;  how  seldom  are 
we  called  to  follow  to  the  grave  or  inter  the 
mortal  remains  of  one  who  had  reached  the  age 
of  three-score  years  and  ten.  How  has  it  been 
in  the  majority  of  cases  which  have  been  wit- 
nessed by  us  within  the  past  year  ?  Have  not 
the  ravages  of  death  been  more  numerous,  and 
more  alarming  among  the  young  than  among 
any  other  class  whatever?  If,  then,  the  youth 
inquires,  "How  long  have  I  to  live?''  let  him 
judge  impartially,  let  him  thipk  on  what  he  him- 
self has  witnessed,  let  him  visit  our  cemeteries, 
and  read  the  inscriptions  on  the  tombs  there, 
after  which,  his  own  conscience  may,  perhaps, 
answer  the  inquiry,  so  as  to  shake  his  presump- 
tive confidence.  In  this  also,  as  in  other  cases, 
it  is  wise  to  consult  the  oracles  of  eternal  truth. 
And  is  there  anything  in  the  sacred  volume 
which  will  encourage  us  to  think  that  we  have 


HOW  LONG  HAVE  I  TO  LIVE?  205 

long  to  live.  No,  on  the  contrary,  our  days 
are  said  to  be  ''swifter  than  a  post,  they  are 
passed  away  as  the  swift  ships,  as  the  eagle  that 
hasteth  to  the  prey."  And,  again,  "What  is 
your  life?  It  is  even  a  vapour,  that  appeareth 
for  a  little  while,  and  then  vanisheth  away.  Tea, 
all  flesh  is  grass,  and  all  the  goodliness  thereof 
is  as  the  flower  of  the  field.''  What  a  striking 
figure  is  this,  to  describe  the  brevity  of  human 
life.  It  is  compared  not  to  the  trees  of  the 
forest,  not  to  the  sturdy  oak,  but  even  the  beauty 
and  glory  of  it;  to  the  flower  of  the  field,  which 
can  endure  for  a  few  months,  and  may  be  des- 
troyed in  a  few  minutes.  Such  are  the  descrip- 
tions given  of  the  mortality  of  man,  such  the 
uncertain  tenure  on  which  we  hold  every  earthly 
good,  and  such  the  danger  of  sinking  to  endless 
ruin,  to  which  every  impenitent  sinner  is  every 
moment  exposed.  And  within  the  space  of  a 
few  hours,  after  hearing  such  admonitions  as 
these,  enforced  as  they  are  by  the  providence 
and  the  word  of  God,  how  commonly  do  we  see 
men  living  as  if  the  present  life  would  never 
have  no  end,  or  the  next  would  never  have  a 
beginning. 

Another  idea  connected  with  the  brevity  of 
human  life,  and  suggested  by  this  solemn  inquiry, 
is  the  wisdom  of  God  in  concealing  from  us  the 
18* 


206 


HOW  LONG  HAVE  I  TO  LIVE? 


time  of  our  death.  That  there  is  an  appointed 
time  to  man  upon  earth,  and  that  the  faithful 
servant  of  God  is  immortal  till  his  work  is  done, 
are  truths  which  cannot  be  reasonably  contro- 
verted. But  the  precise  moment  when  we  shall 
pass  into  the  invisible  world,  is  known  only  to 
Him  who  has  the  keys  of  death  and  of  hell; 
who  openeth  and  no  man  shutteth,  and  shutteth 
and  no  man  openeth.  Some  may  be  ready  to 
say,  did  we  but  know  how  long  we  were  to  live, 
it  would  certainly  excite  in  us  more  earnest  de- 
sires to  be  prepared  for  another  world,  and  would 
doubtless  prove  a  blessing  to  us.  But  to  this  we 
may  reply,  nothing  can  be  more  arrogant  and 
presumptuous  than  to  oppose  our  judgment  to 
the  wisdom  of  Jehovah,  whose  understanding  is 
infinite.  So  the  rich  man  in  hell  is  described  as 
expressing  the  greatest  confidence,  that  if  one 
arose  from  the  dead  and  went  to  his  brethren, 
they  surely  would  repent;  but  he  is  answered, 
''If  they  hear  not  Moses  and  the  prophets, 
neither  will  they  be  persuaded  though  one  arose 
from  the  dead."  And  were  a  voice  from  heaven 
to  sanction  these  admonitions  by  calling  to  an 
impenitent  sinner,  and  pronouncing  the  solemn 
sentence,  "This  year  thou  shalt  die,''  it  is  more 
than  probable,  whatever  temporary  alarm  might 
be  produced,  the  impression  would  soon  be  obli- 


HOW  LONG  HAVE  I  TO  LIVE?  207 


terated  from  his  mind,  and  without  renewing 
grace,  we  are  sure  there  would  be  no  saving 
change. 

This  uncertainty  as  to  the  time  of  our  death 
is  calculated  and  intended,  also,  to  promote 
watchfulness.  Our  Saviour  himself  made  this 
improvement  of  it  when  he  said,  ''Watch,  there- 
fore, for  ye  know  not  what  hour  your  Lord  doth 
come."  Thus  we  are  called  to  stand  prepared 
every  day  for  that  which  may  take  place  on  any 
day.  The  pressing  invitations  of  the  gospel  are 
enforced,  too,  from  the  same  consideration — 
"Seek  ye  the  Lord  while  he  may  be  found;  call 
upon  him  while  he  is  near.''  "Whatsoever 
thine  hand  findeth  to  do,  do  it  with  thy  might; 
for  there  is  no  work,  nor  device,  nor  knowledge, 
nor  wisdom,  in  the  grave,  whither  thou  goest.'' 
Now  is  the  accepted  time;  this  is  the  day  of 
Salvation;  "To-day,  if  ye  will  hear  his  voice, 
harden  not  your  hearts."  Think,  then,  what 
may  be,  what  must  be  the  consequence  of  a 
little  more  procrastination. 

*'0  fly!    No  tarrying  make ;  death  and  despair 
Hang  on  your  lingering  steps  whilst  you  delay; 
The  heavens  thick  blackness  gather,  and  the  night 
Comes  surely  on,  that  never  turns  to  day." 


208  THE  IMPROVEMENT  OF  LIFE. 


THE  IMPROVEMENT  OF  LIFE. 

What  can  be  more  solemn  than  human  life? 
When  we  contemplate  it  in  itself,  in  the  influ- 
ence which  it  exerts,  and  in  the  vast  and  awful 
consequences  resulting  from  it,  it  is  clothed  with 
inexpressible  solemnity. 

Human  life  is  most  solemn  from  its  brevity. 
It  is  a  course  which  is  soon  run;  it  is  a  vapour 
which  is  soon  exhaled;  it  is  a  tale  which  is 
soon  told ;  it  is  a  glass,  the  sands  of  which  soon 
descend,  and  disappear.  The  flying  cloud,  the 
withering  grass,  the  quickly  faded  flower,  the 
arrow  just  propelled  from  the  string,  are  appro- 
priate and  impressive  emblems  of  the  life  of 
man.  It  appeareth  only  for  a  little  time,  and 
then  vanisheth  away.  Thou  hast  made  my  day^ 
as  a  hand-breadth,  and  mine  age  is  as  nothing 
before  thee." 

Human  life  is  most  solemn  from  its  uncer- 
tainty. It  is  just  as  fluctuating  as  it  is  transi- 
tory. When  we  are  soberly  regarding  it,  we 
find  that  we  can  calculate  on  nothing,  depend 
implicitly  on  nothing.  Instead  of  anticipating 
a  year,  we  cannot  confidently  expect  a  day, 
we  dare  not  boast  even  of  a  moment.    In  an 


THE  IMPROVEMENT  OF  LIFE. 


209 


instant,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  we  may  be 
cut  down,  and  removed  to  the  invisible  and 
eternal  world. 

Human  life  is  most  solemn  from  the  work 
whicJi  ive  have  to  do.  What  engagements  are 
to  be  discharged;  and  how  are  those  engage- 
ments perpetually  recurring  !  What  labours  are 
to  be  endured;  and  in  how  patient  and  cheerful 
a  manner  are  those  labours  to  be  borne!  What 
difficulties,  are  to  be  encountered;  and  how  rea- 
dily are  those  difficulties  to  be  met;  how  boldly 
and  vigorously  are  they  to  be  overcome !  What 
enemies  are  to  be  contended  against;  and  how 
determinately  must  we  grapple  with  those  adver- 
saries at  every  step  of  our  journey!  What 
changes  are  to  be  realized;  and  how  submissive 
and  unmurmuring  is  the  spirit  which  we  are  to 
exemplify  in  the  endurance  of  all  those  changes ! 
What  sufferings  are  to  be  experienced;  and  how 
are  we  required  to  remember  that  every  rod  has 
a  voice,  to  which  we  are  bound  to  listen,  and 
whose  communications  we  are  bound  to  obey ! 

Human  life  is  most  solemn  from  the  eternity 
with  which  it  is  associated,  and  to  which  it  is 
ever  tending  with  almost  inconceivable  rapidity. 
All  its  engagements,  all  its  opportunities,  all  its 
privileges,  all  its  changes,  all  its  trials,  are  un- 
speakably solemn  from  their  connection,  their 


210  THE  IMPROVEMENT  OF  LIFE. 


close  and  inseparable  connection  with  eternity; 
with  that  vast  and  changeless  state  of  existence 
on  which  we  shall  soon  enter,  and  to  which  the 
present  state  of  being  is  only  an  introduction. 

**0  that  unfatliomable  sea! 

Those  deeps  without  a  shore ! 
Where  living  waters  gently  play, 
Or  fiery  billows  roar !" 

If  these  remarks  be  true — and  who  can  doubt 
them? — with  how  much  seriousness  should  hu- 
man life  be  regarded! — with  how  much  care 
and  earnestness  should  it  be  improved!  It 
should  never  be  trifled  with,  much  less  viewed 
with  unmeaning  and  wanton  levity.  The  deve- 
lopment of  such  a  spirit  unfolds  ignorance  the 
most  profound,  and  folly  the  most  egregious. 
The  man  of  serious  reflection  will  see  nothing  in 
connection  with  human  life  with  which  to  trifle ; 
while  the  man  of  prayer,  and  the  man  of  God, 
wull  see  everything  in  it  to  awaken  thought,  and 
lead  to  the  most  earnest  and  unceasing  exertion. 

Improve  life  by  estimating  it  aright.  Human 
life  can  never  be  employed  for  the  accomplish- 
ment of  the  noblest  objects  until  this  estimation 
be  formed  respecting  it.  Entertain  those  large, 
those  sublime,  and  those  impressive  views  of  it 
which  are  so  finely  expressed  and  inculcated  in 


THE  IMPROVEMENT  OF  LIFE.  211 

the  word  of  God.  Mark  how  Job,  David,  Solo- 
mon, Isaiah,  Paul,  and  especially  our  Saviour, 
speak  respecting  its  solemnity,  its  importance, 
and  its  tremendous  responsibility.  Endeavour 
to  have  a  fellow-feeling  with  them,  and  act  as 
they  did  through  the  journey  of  life. 

Improve  life  by  embracing  every  opportunity 
of  securing  advantage,  and  especially  advantage 
of  the  highest  kind.  Let  not  one  be  under- 
valued, let  not  one  be  lost.  Let  every  oppor- 
tunity of  improvement  be  promptly  and  eagerly 
seized ;  let  it  be  regarded  as  a  pearl ;  let  it  be 
esteemed  as  a  treasure ;  let  it  be  valued  as  the 
golden  moment.  Grasp  it  then  at  once,  and  let 
it  not  pass  from  you  without  a  blessing  being 
left  behind.  Knowledge  must  be  acquired;  the 
mind  must  be  well  cultivated;  correct  habits 
must  be  formed ;  special  seasons  for  doing  good 
must  be  sacredly  regarded;  and,  above  all,  the 
heart,  with  all  its  passions,  its  affections,  its  sen- 
sibilities, and  its  increased  holiness,  supremely 
contemplated  and  solicited. 

Improve  life  by  associating  it  with  fervent 
and  unceasing  prayer.  There  can  be  no  pre- 
paredness for  duty  without  much  prayer;  no 
fitness  for  the  changes  of  life  without  much 
prayer.    There  can  be  no  security  amidst  the 


212  THE  IMPROVEMENT  OF  LIFE. 

temptations  and  dangers  of  life,  without  much 
prayer.  There  can  be  no  meetness  for  the  de- 
cline and  the  close  of  life,  without  much  prayer. 
And  sure  are  we,  that  after  the  present  life  has 
terminated,  there  can  be  no  celestial  happiness 
enjoyed  unless  a  spirit  of  habitual  prayer  has 
sweetened  its  anticipation,  and  fitted  us  for  its 
full  realization. 

Life,  to  be  useful  and  happy,  must  never  be 
spent  without  prayer.  Prayer  will  sanctify  all 
its  engagements,  alleviate  all  its  cares,  sweeten 
all  its  mercies,  give  a  tone  and  an  impulse  to  all 
its  efforts,  and  multiply  and  enrich  all  its  enjoy- 
ments. 

Improve  life  by  always  anticipating  its  close. 
It  will  soon  be  here,  and  much  sooner,  perhaps, 
than  we  expected.  A  few  more  fleeting  years, 
or  perhaps  only  a  few  months  have  to  roll  away, 
before  death  shall  overtake  us.  Let  us  so  live, 
and  so  labour,  then,  that  we  may  render  up  our 
last  account  with  joy,  and  not  with  grief.  Let 
us  live  as  those  who  expect  to  die.  0 !  let  us 
live  as  the  citizens  of  the  skies,  and  the  children 
of  the  resurrection  !  Let  every  reader  uniformly 
remember,  that  if  he  trifles  with  life,  if  he  neg- 
lects its  duties,  throws  away  its  opportunities, 
and  despises  its  high  responsibilities,  he  does  it 


EBENEZER. 


213 


at  his  peril — peril  that  may  be  awful,  irreme- 
diable, eternal. 

How  ought  I  then  on  earth  to  live, 
While  God  prolongs  the  kind  reprieve, 

And  spares  this  house  of  clay  ? 
My  sole  concern,  my  single  care, 
To  watch,  and  tremble,  and  prepare. 

Against  that  awful  day.'' 

 » 

EBENEZER. 

It  was  customary  in  Old  Testament  times,  when 
any  great  event  had  occurred,  or  deliverance 
been  accomplished,  to  set  up  a  large  stone  or 
pillar  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood,  and  to 
bestow  upon  it  a  name  commemorative  of  the 
circumstance.  Thus  when  Jacob,  on  his  journey 
to  Padan-Aram,  had  been  comforted  and  en- 
couraged by  a  vision  of  angels  and  a  voice 
from  heaven,  we  are  informed  that  "he  rose 
up  early  in  the.  morning,  and  took  the  stone 
that  he  had  put  for  his  pillow,  and  set  it  up 
for  a  pillar,  and  poured  oil  upon  the  top  of 
it,  and  called  the  name  of  that  place  Bethel," 
that  is,  the  House  of  God.  In  like  manner, 
"when  the  children  of  Israel  had  passed  over 
Jordan,  Joshua,  by  divine  appointment,  set  up  in 
19 


214 


EBENEZEE. 


Gilgal  twelve  stones,  which  he  had  caused  to  be 
brought  out  of  the  midst  of  the  river,  and  spake 
unto  the  people,  saying,  "When  your  children 
shall  ask  their  fathers,  in  time  to  come,  saying, 
*  What  mean  ye  by  these  stones?'  then  ye  shall 
let  you  children  know,  saying,  'Israel  came  over 
this  Jordan  on  dry  land.' "  In  like  manner, 
also,  when  God  in  answer  to  the  prayers  of 
Samuel  had  given  Israel  a  signal  victory  over 
the  host  of  the  Philistines,  the  prophet  "took  a 
stone,  and  set  it  between  Mizpeh  and  Sher,  and 
called  the  name  of  it  Ebenezer,"  that  is,  the 
stone  of  help,  saying,  "Hitherto  hath  the  Lord 
helped  us." 

The  practice  now  alluded  to  was  attended 
with  many  advantages  in  an  age  when  graphical 
delineation  was  almost  altogether  unknown,  and 
when  the  events  of  history  were  chiefly  trans- 
mitted from  father  to  son  through  the  medium 
of  oral  tradition.  Nor  is  there  any  reason  to 
believe  it  was  peculiar  to  the  Hebrew  nation. 
On  the  contrary,  there  still  exist  in  many  parts 
of  Great  Britain  similar  stones  and  clusters  of 
stones,  which,  though  they  be  the  relics  of  a  bar- 
barous and  superstitious  age,  and  the  history  of 
them  has  long  since  passed  into  oblivion,  were 
doubtless  the  Bethels,  the  Gilgals,  and  the 
Ebenezers  of  their  day. 


EBENEZER. 


215 


In  these  modern  times,  when  light,  and  intel- 
ligence, and  gospel  privileges  abound,  it  is  unne- 
cessary to  set  up  a  stone  of  help,  or  to  record 
thereon  what  the  Lord  has  done  for  us  and  for 
his  people.  But  there  are  seasons  in  which  it  is 
equally  salutary  and  useful  to  erect  a  spiritual 
Ebenezer  in  our  hearts;  and  looking  back  upon 
all  the  way  through  which  our  good  Shepherd 
has  led  us,  to  say,  in  the  spirit  and  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  prophet,  "Hitherto  hath  the  Lord 
helped  us/' 

Such  a  season  is  the  commencement  of  an- 
other'^year — a  period  eminently  calculated  to 
excite  serious  reflections  in  the  minds  of  both 
old  and  young — a  period  to  which  no  one,  at  the 
distance  of  a  few  months,  could  look  forward 
with  any  degree  of  certainty — a  period  at  which 
neither  the  reader  nor  the  writer  of  these  re- 
marks may  be  permitted  again  to  arrive. 

Come,  then,  fellow-Christians,  believers  in 
the  same  Lord,  subjects  of  the  same  King,  par- 
takers of  the  same  hope,  expectants  of  the  same 
glorious  inheritance,  let  us  here  set  up  our 
Ebenezer,  and  say,  "Hitherto  hath  the  Lord 
helped  us." 

The  past  year,  up  to  a  late  period,  has  been 
one  of  peace  and  quietude  in  our  land.  We 
have  sat,  as  it  were,  under  our  vines  and  fig- 


216 


EBENEZER. 


trees,  and  no  one  has  made  us  afraid.  The 
thunders  of  war  have  indeed  been  heard,  but 
they  have  rolled  at  a  distance,  and  only  their 
fainter  echoes  have  reached  our  shores.  For  a 
year  of  such  tranquillity  shall  we  not  be  grate- 
ful? Shall  we  not  own  our  obligations  to  the 
Lord  of  Sabbaoth?  and  though  he  is  now 
smiting  us,  shall  we  not,  in  the  retrospect  of 
such  a  period,  erect  our  Ebenezer,  and  say, 
"Hitherto  hath  the  Lord  helped  us"? 

The  past  year  has  been  one  of  division  and 
speculation  in  our  churches.  Overweening  men, 
in  the  pride  of  fancied  superiority,  have  launched 
into  the  depths  of  an  intricate  and  bewildering 
theology;  and,  through  the  influence  of  a  spu- 
rious reputation  and  declamatory  harangues, 
have  turned  aside  not  a  few  from  the  simplicity 
of  the  faith.  But  the  period  of  delusion  is  fast 
passing  away;  the  ark  of  the  covenant  rides 
secure  amidst  the  deluge  of  error;  wave  after 
wave  has  rolled  harmless  from  its  sides;  while 
the  rays  of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness,  bursting 
forth  with  renovated  splendour,  are  rapidly  dissi- 
pating the  clouds  which  obscure  our  national 
horizon;  and  that  hand,  which  of  old  divided  the 
waters  which  were  above  the  firmament  from 
those  which  were  below  it,  is  drawing  as  broad 
a  line  between  the  truths  of  the  gospel  and  the 


EBENEZER. 


217 


dreams  of  a  heated  imagination.  Surely,  while 
this  is  the  case,  it  is  the  duty  of  all  those  "who 
possessing  their  souls  in  peace,  have  been  ena- 
bled to  "hold  fast  the  profession  of  their  faith 
without  wavering,"  to  set  up  an  Ebenezer,  and 
to  say,  ''Hitherto  hath  the  Lord  helped  us." 

The  past  year  has  been  a  period  of  commer- 
cial distress  and  pecuniary  embarrassment  to 
thousands.  It  were  too  much  to  expect  that  all 
who  read  these  remarks  have  reposed  in  safety 
beyond  the  reach  of  an  evil  which  has  spread  so 
widely ;  and  yet,  my  brother,  if  in  the  midst  of 
difficulties,  it  may  be  of  temptation,  you  have 
been  enabled  to  trust  in  the  kind  providence  of 
God,  and  to  "hold  fast  your  integrity  without 
letting  it  go,"  have  you  not  cause  to  rejoice,  to 
"thank  God,  and  take  courage"?  But  if,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  past  year  has  been  to  you  a 
season  of  prosperity — if  your  basket  and  store 
have  been  blessed,  and  your  substance  been 
increased,  still  louder  is  the  call  upon  you  to 
give  thanks  to  the  Almighty.  Thus,  whether 
adversity  has  shut  you  up  to  prayer  and  suppli- 
cation, or  prosperity  has  called  forth  the  voice 
of  praise  from  your  lips,  you  are  equally,  at  this 
season,  bound  to  set  up  your  Ebenezer,  and  to 
say,  in  accents  of  grateful  acknowledgment, 
"Hitherto  hath  the  Lord  helped  us." 
19* 


218 


EBENEZER. 


But  human  life  is  a  varied  and  rapidly  chang- 
ing scene.  "Man  is  born  unto  trouble,  as  the 
sparks  fly  upward/'  The  past  year  has  doubt- 
less been  a  time  of  sickness  in  many  families — a 
season  of  death  in  not  a  few.  My  brother,  my 
sister,  have  you  lain,  do  you  now  lie  on  a  bed 
of  pain?  Has  the  multitude  of  your  bones 
endured  strong  pain  ?  Or  have  you  been  called 
upon  to  attend  the  couch  of  a  sick  parent,  or 
child,  or  wife,  or  husband?  Have  your  hands 
closed  the  eyes  of  your  dearest  earthly  friend? 
Has  the  desire  of  your  eyes  been  taken  away 
with  a  stroke  ?  And  yet,  have  your  consolations 
abounded?  Have  a  present  God  and  a  present 
Saviour  assuaged  your  anguish  and  dried  your 
tears?  0,  then,  praise  the  Lord!  Magnify  and 
exalt  the  name  of  our  God  !  "He  afflicteth  not 
willingly,''  nor  willingly  doth  he  grieve  the  chil- 
dren of  men.  "Whom  the  Lord  loveth  he 
chasteneth;  and  scourgeth  every  child  whom 
he  receiveth."  But  has  the  case  been  otherwise 
with  you?  Has  health  smiled  upon  your  dwell- 
ing? Does  the  little  circle  of  your  family  and 
relations  remain  unbroken?  Then  let  your 
ascriptions  of  praise  and  glory  to  the  Most 
High  be  more  elevated  still — erect  your  joyful 
Ebenczer,  and  tune  your  voices  to  the  gladsome 
lay  of,  "Hitherto  hath  the  Lord  helped  us." 


EBENEZER. 


219 


What  shall  I  say  more?  There  is  a  little 
world  within  us,  open  only  to  the  eye  of  Omni- 
science. "The  heart  knoweth  its  own  bitteress, 
and  a  stranger  intermeddleth  not  with  its  joy." 
Christian  reader,  has  thy  growth  in  grace  during 
the  past  year  been  steady  and  progressive  ?  Has 
it  resembled  "the  shining  light,  that  shineth  ^ 
more  and  more  unto  the  perfect  day"?  Have 
the  months,  as  they  rolled  away,  been  marked 
by  new  attainments  in  holiness,  new  zeal  in 
the  Redeemer's  cause?  I  bid  thee  God-speed. 
Go  on  thy  way  rejoicing.  Erect  thine  Ebene- 
zer,  and  say  "Hitherto  hath  the  Lord  helped 
me. 

But  you  will  perhaps  say,  "No!  my  advance- 
ment in  the  divine  life  has  been  tardy  and  inter- 
rupted." You  have  found  the  old  man  within 
you  still  struggling  for  the  mastery.  Hard 
thoughts  of  God  have  occasionally  arisen,  and 
the  pleasures  of  sense  and  of  sin  have  renewed 
their  enticements.  Yet,  through  the  grace  given 
to  you,  you  have  not  been  wholly  overcome; 
"the  fiery  darts  of  the  wicked  one"  have  been 
quenched  "by  the  shield  of  faith;"  and  you 
have  been  enabled  to  "withstand  in  the  evil 
day."  Set  up,  then,  your  Ebenezer;  and  while 
you  pray  for  more  grace,  stronger  faith,  and  "a 
hope  that  maketh  not  ashamed,"  say,  in  grateful 


220 


EBENEZER. 


remembrance  of  past  mercies,  "Hitherto  hath 
the  Lord  helped  me." 

It  appears,  then,  that  in  every  situation  in 
which  the  Christian  can  be  placed,  his  grounds 
of  thankfulness  and  joy  continually  abound; 
and  that,  while  he  remembers  that  the  last 
hours  of  another  year  have  expired,  he  may 
feel  it  his  duty  and  his  privilege  to  set  up  his 
spiritual  Ebenezer,  and  to  say,  "  Hitherto  hath 
the  Lord  helped  me." 

What  remains  but  that,  in  entering  on  an- 
other year,  we  may  fervently  implore  the  Ke- 
deemer's  presence  with  us  throughout  its  course; 
and  solicit  the  sanctifying  influences  of  his 
Spirit,  that  we  may  be  enabled,  in  health  or  in 
sickness,  in  prosperity  or  in  adversity,  in  peace 
or  in  trouble,  to  glorify  his  name  from  its  com- 
mencement to  its  close.  Or  if,  in  the  unsearch- 
able depths  of  Divine  wisdom,  it  be  decreed  that 
the  year  on  which  we  are  about  to  enter  shall 
be  our  last  upon  earth,  that  we  may  be  enabled, 
even  on  the  bed  of  death,  to  show  forth  his 
praise;  yea,  even  there  to  erect  our  Ebenezer, 
and  to  say,  "  Hitherto  hath  the  Lord  helped 
us." 


THE  DUTY  OF  SELF- EXAMINATION.  221 


THE  DUTY  OF  SELF-EXAMINATION. 

MUSINGS  AT  THE  COMMENCEMENT  OF  A  NEW  YEAR. 

What  more  suitable,  as  a  requiem  to  the  de- 
parted year,  than  the  bewailings  of  a  sincere 
heart,  while  in  the  secret  and  silent  chamber  it 
voluntarily  subjects  itself  to  the  testing  process 
of  the  crucible  of  self-examination?  Such  a  des- 
cent into  the  deep  caverns  of  the  human  soul 
must,  we  know,  at  any  time,  present  an  appal- 
ing  spectacle;  but  never  does  the  sight  shock  us 
so  much,  perhaps,  as  when,  at  the  commence- 
ment of  a  new  year,  we  look  back  and  contem- 
plate that  which  has  just  expired,  and  which  has 
borne  in,  beyond  recall,  its  solemn  accounts  to 
the  Judge  of  quick  and  dead.  Truly,  a  naked 
human  heart  exhibits  enough  of  sin  and  corrup- 
tion to  produce  the  deepest  humiliation  and  the 
most  entire  self-abasement,  and  might  well  lead 
to  the  entreaty,  ''Enter  not  into  judgment  with 
thy  servant,  0  Lord !  for  in  thy  sight  shall  no 
flesh  be  justified."  But  what  ought  to  be  our 
feelings  at  such  a  season  as  the  present,  at  the 
commencement  of  a  new  year,  and  in  the  review 
of  sins,  of  judgments,  and  of  mercies,  past  away 
as  to  time,  but  colouring  our  destinies  as  the 


222       THE  DUTY  OF  SELF-EXAMINATION. 

heirs  of  immortality — what,  we  say,  ought  to  be 
our  feelings?  Surely  penitence  for  the  past, 
and  holy  resolve  in  respect  to  the  future,  should 
characterize  the  tone  of  our  minds  before  God. 
At  the  commencement  of  the  testing  process, 
probably  the  more  prominent  sins  of  the  by-gone 
year  alone  will  present  themselves;  but  these, 
alas !  are  but  as  a  vestibule  to  the  spiritual  and 
immaterial  temple— the  soul.  There  lie  hidden, 
as  in  ambush,  a  fearful  host  of  unrecognized 
enemies,  that  war  against  its  best  interests. 
These  are  lodged  in  its  secret  chambers,  and,  as 
it  were,  serve  to  fill  up  the  interstices  thereof, 
so  that  the  ^'candle  of  the  Lord"  alone  can 
search  them  out. 

If  such,  on  inspection,  be  found  the  condition 
of  an  individual,  such  is  also  the  heart  of  man 
universally.  And  let  us  bear  in  mind,  that  not 
less  intimately  connected  with  the  interests  and 
happiness  of  others,  are  the  principles  which 
regulate  our  thoughts,  feelings,  and  actions  in- 
dividually. What  caution  and  fidelity,  there- 
fore, are  required  of  us,  in  order  that  we  may 
neither  deceive  ourselves,  nor  mislead  others ! 
Por,  be  it  remembered,  that  no  thought  passes 
through  the  mind  but  gives  birth  to  expression, 
in  word  or  deed,  and  exerts  its  proportional 
influence,  for  good  or  for  evil,  upon  others  as 


THE  DUTY  OF  SELF-EXAMINATION.  223 


well  as  upon  ourselves;  and  more  than  this, 
every  comparative  trifle  will  be  seen,  by  and  by, 
to  have  formed  parts  in  that  great  whole,  in 
which  will  be  summed  up  the  ultimate  destinies 
of  every  human  being. 

This  is  a  solemn  fact,  and  one  which  we  should 
seek  to  keep  ever  before  the  mind,  that  we  may, 
in  the  strength  of  that  grace  which  is  suflScient 
for  us,  and  which  is  made  perfect  in  human 
weakness,  cultivate  and  exercise  those  virtues 
which  are  expected  to  be  found  in,  and  which 
ought  conspicuously  to  adorn  the  Christian  pro- 
fessor. Purity,  truth,  benevolence,  charity, 
should  shine  forth  from  him  with  double  bril- 
liancy, should  sparkle  like  gems  in  the  breast- 
plate of  the  Jewish  high-priest,  and  be  worn  as 
frontlets  between  his  eyes. 

Brought  thus  to  see  what  is  required  of  us 
as  candidates  for  the  heavenly  world,  our  least 
delinquencies  stand  out  as  in  bold  relief,  and 
compel  the  cry,  "Unclean,  unclean  are  we!" 
"  Wert  thou  strict  to  mark  iniquities,  0  Lord ! 
who  could  stand?"  And,  alas!  alas!  by  what 
slow  degrees  does  the  human  heart  progress 
in  the  knowledge  of  divine  things !  How  few 
are  its  attainments !  how  faint  its  aspirations 
after  the  source  of  all  good !  The  grovelling 
things  of  this  passing  world  weigh  down  its 


224        THE  DUTY  or  SELF-EXAMINATION. 


pinions;  it  struggles  and  struggles,  but  seldom 
does  it  soar  beyond  the  things  of  time  and  sense. 
These,  like  the  mountains  of  the  material  world, 
shut  from  its  vision  the  far-off  land  of  spiritual 
delights.  In  the  growth  of  grace,  so  many 
storms  assail  the  plant,  so  many  blights  its  open- 
ing buds,  it  is  long,  very  long,  ere  the  delicate 
flower  expands;  and  when  it  does,  it  is  often 
very  imperfectly.  The  ungenial  elements  by 
which  it  is  surrounded  tend  to  destroy  its  vital 
juices;  and  but  for  the  fructifying  beams  of  the 
Sun  of  Righteousness,  and  the  refreshing  breezes 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  counteract  their  influ- 
ences, it  would  never  come  to  maturity. 

"This  sweet  exotic  of  celestial  birth 
Can  flourish  only  in  celestial  air." 

Yet  let  us  not  be  discouraged  by  these  diffi- 
culties of  the  way;  let  the  disclosures  of  self- 
inspection  urge  us  forward  in  the  strength  of 
the  Lord,  to  be  more  vigilant  over  our  spiritual 
foes,  and  more  circumspect  in  our  outward  de- 
portment, so  that,  "growing  in  grace  and  in  the 
knowledge  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ,"  our  faith  may  become  more  vigorous, 
and  our  hope  more  strong;  and  thus  we  may  go 
on  from  one  degree  of  holiness  to  another,  until 
we  shall  have  "grown  up  into  Christ  in  all 


THE  DUTY  OF  SELF-EXAMINATION.  225 


things."  In  the  spiritual  as  in  the  material 
world,  everything  is  progressive.  The  morning 
sunbeams  do  but  partially  illumine  the  constel- 
lated tower,  whose  ivyed  turrets  are  reflected  in 
the  clear  stream  that  runs  at  its  base ;  but,  as 
the  bright  luminary  climbs  higher  and  higher, 
more  and  more  picturesque  beauties  are  revealed, 
and  when  at  length  he  has  gained  the  zenith  in 
the  blue  heavens,  no  part  of  the  building  is  left 
in  shadow,  its  fair  form  and  elegant  proportions 
stand  out  in  unshrouded  loveliness.  If,  then, 
in  the  works  of  creation,  we  see  everything  but 
gradually  advance  toward  perfection,  shall  we 
wonder  that  Christian  holiness,  with  so  many 
impediments  to  oppose,  so  many  jarring  interests 
to  discourage,  should  so  slowly  develope  itself, 
or  that  we  sometimes  halt  and  become  dissatis- 
fied by  the  difficulties  which  impede  our  pro- 
gress to  maturity?  But  let  us  not,  on  this 
account,  stop  short  of  the  goal.  Let  us  hold  on 
our  way ;  still  reach  after  these  glorious  attain- 
ments; still  strive  to  enter  in  at  the  straight 
gate  with  unwearying  ardour,  encouraged  by 
the  promises,  "To  him  that  overcometh  will  I 
give  to  eat  of  the  tree  of  life  which  is  in  the 
midst  of  the  paradise  of  God."  "In  due  time 
you  shall  reap  if  you  faint  not." 

After  such  reflections,  we  should  ask  our- 
20 


226        THE  DUTY  OF  SELF-EXAMINATION. 


selves  and  others,  What  ought  to  be  the  practi- 
cal effects  on  the  mind?  And,  first,  we  would 
say,  that  since  we  discover  so  much  evil  in  our- 
selves, we  should  be  careful  to  exercise  a  spirit 
of  charity  towards  others.  Charity  is  the  con- 
necting link  which  unites  man  to  man,  and  earth 
to  heaven.  If  this  grace  be  in  us,  and  abound, 
it  shall  "make  us  to  be  neither  barren  nor 
unfruitful  in  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ;"  whilst  without  this  in  our  hearts,  the 
bonds  of  society  would  be  uprooted,  and  earth 
relapse  into  a  second  chaos. 

This  is  the  grace  that  lives  and  reigns 
When  faith  and  hope  shall  cease ; 

'Tis  this  shall  swell  our  joyful  strains 
In  the  sweet  realms  of  peace !" 

In  proportion  to  the  strength  of  this  grace, 
will  be  evinced  that  concern  for  our  neighbour 
•  which  is  binding  on  all  the  followers  of  Christ. 
Benevolence  is  one  of  its  most  fruitful  branches; 
and  only  in  proportion  to  the  exercise  of  charity 
and  love,  can  man  be  said  to  be  a  transcript  of 
his  Maker.  What  has  characterized  our  con- 
duct the  past  year  ? 

In  order  to  avoid  those  lamentable  deficiencies 
more  general  among  us,  as  well  as  our  grievous 
short-comings  in  all  the  requirements  of  God's 
holy  law,  let  our  self-inspection  during  the  year 


THE  DUTY  OF  SELF-EXAMINATION.  227 


that  has  now  dawned  be  more  frequent.  So 
shall  our  sense  of  delinquency  be  more  keen ; 
and  with  an  habitual  watchfulness,  and  prayer- 
fulness,  and  Divine  assistance,  we  shall  find,  on 
looking  back,  that  we  are  advancing  in  the 
Christian  course. 

Let  us  take  to  ourselves  "  the  whole  armour 
of  God,"  and  in  this  panoply  go  forth  conquer- 
ing and  to  conquer,  until  every  spiritual  foe  is 
disarmed,  and  the  shout  of  victory  is  heard  iu 
our  spiritual  tabernacle,  "I  thank  God,  through 
Jesus  Christ,  my  Lord!" 

But  it  has  been  said,  "self-knowledge  is  the 
most  diflScult  of  all  knowledge."  True;  but 
"knowledge  of  our  faults  is  the  first  step  to 
improvement."  We  shall  do  well  to  bear  this 
in  mind,  and  nothing  is  so  likely  to  do  both  as 
self-inspection.  The  motives  which  originate, 
mingle  with,  and  colour  our  best  actions,  are  so 
insidious,  so  imperfect,  that  it  were  vain  to 
attempt  to  analyze  them;  their  number  and 
variety  would  occupy  a  volume — if,  indeed,  to 
do  so  were  possible.  Their  true  merits  are 
known  only  to  the  Searcher  of  hearts;  but,  we 
repeat,  where  the  essential  elements  of  Christi- 
anity exist,  there  will  be  found  that  charity,  or 
love,  which  we  have  been  holding  up  as  the 
grand  regulating  spring  of  all  our  thoughts, 


228       THE  DUTY  OF  SELF-EXAMINATION. 


feelings,  and  actions.  The  spirit  of  pure  bene- 
volence, which  teaches  to  "  forgive  our  enemies,'' 
to  minister  to  the  wants  of  others,  which  ''think- 
eth  no  evil,''  which  feels  indignation  at  hearing 
the  unfortunate  maligned;  which  has  a  heart  to 
feel  for,  and  a  hand  to  rescue  the  oppressed 
and  the  stranger ;  that  checks  the  tongue  of 
slander,  and  heals  the  breaches  between  friends ; 
such  a  spirit  will  ever,  more  or  less,  distinguish 
the  Christian  character.  And  while  this  shall 
be  the  case,  there  will  be  no  connivance  at  sin; 
he  will  but  throw  over  the  failings  of  his  fellow- 
creatures  that  mantle  of  charity  which  the  Scrip- 
tures commend,  and  which  he  needs  to  cover  his 
own  delinquencies. 

In  conclusion,  let  us  ask  ourselves,  as  well  as 
our  readers,  if,  in  this  partial  anatomy  of  the 
heart,  this  probing  of  spiritual  wounds,  there 
have  been  detected  no  incongruities,  no  palpable 
errors,  no  absence  of  good,  no  presence  of  evil? 
The  writer  pleads  guilty,  and  but  for  the  blood 
of  Christ,  that  "fountain  opened  for  sin  and 
for  uncleanness,"  would  despair  of  salvation. 

We  cannot,  then,  do  better  with  the  opening 
moments  of  a  new  year,  than  resolve,  by  Divine 
assistance,  to  continue  the  habit  of  self-examina- 
tion, and  for  the  future  to  live  more  nearly  and 
more  entirely  to  Him  who  hath  given  himself 
for  us. 


THE  ANTI-REVIVALIST. 


229 


THE  ANTI-REVIVALIST. 

Much  has  been  said  of  late  for  and  against 
revivals;  the  public  mind  is  greatly  agitated 
on  the  subject.  It  behoves  us,  as  wise  men,  to 
look  the  question  full  in  the  face,  and  examine  it 
in  all  its  bearings;  so  I  thought  it  would  not 
be  amiss  to  state  some  of  the  dangerous  conse- 
quences anticipated  from  a  revival  of  religion. 
Perhaps  it  may  cause  the  revival  fire  to  burn 
somewhat  brighter;  at  least,  it  may  agitate  the 
matter  a  little  more,  and  that  will  be  something 
gained. 

A  revival  of  religion  operates  on  two  classes 
of  society — those  who  are  religious,  and  those 
who  are  not.  It  always  begins  with  the  former, 
by  making  them  more  watchful  and  prayerful, 
more  zealous  for  the  glory  of  God,  and  more 
compassionate  over  perishing  souls.  Then  it 
immediately  follows  with  the  irreligious,  leading 
them  to  consider  their  ways,  to  see  their  danger, 
to  feel  their  need  of  mercy,  and  flee  to  Christ 
as  the  only  refuge  from  the  wrath  to  come. 
This  change  is  wonderful  and  glorious.  It  has 
nothing  on  earth  to  equal  it;  nor  is  there  any- 
thing like  it  in  heaven.  If  the  Almighty  were 
20* 


230 


THE  ANTI-REVIVALIST. 


to  convert  a  pious  man  into  an  archangel,  it 
would  not  be  so  great  a  change  as  to  translate  a 
sinner  from  darkness  to  light,  and  from  the 
power  of  Satan  unto  God.  This  grand  move- 
ment shakes  Satan's  kingdom  to  its  foundations. 
The  devil  looks  and  trembles  at  the  sight,  and 
ungodly  men  cannot  behold  it  without  dismay; 
yea,  cold-hearted  professors  of  religion  may  be 
expected  to  cry  out  against  it.  Some  of  the 
dangerous  consequences  they  foresee  are  the 
following: — a  loss  of  property,  a  waste  of  time, 
distress  to  parents,  and  the  annoyance  of  entire 
communities. 

What  a  loss  of  property !  A  revival  fills  the 
heart  with  benevolence;  it  opens  the  hand,  it 
unties  the  purse-strings,  it  distributes  to  the 
poor,  it  actually  gives  wings  to  riches,  and 
makes  them  flv  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  to  aid 
in  proclaiming  salvation.  Yet  there  is  no  waste 
of  property.  It  turns  the  money,  it  is  true, 
into  a  new  channel;  but  still  there  is  no  actual 
waste;  for  I  firmly  believe  that  every  man,  even 
in  a  worldly  point  of  view,  is  a  gainer  by  his 
religion.  I  have  never  yet  seen  nor  heard  of 
persons  thrown  into  prison  for  debts  which  they 
had  contracted  by  works  of  charity.  There 
may  be  instances  of  this  kind,  but  they  are  so 
rare  that  I  have  never  met  with  one  of  them  yet 


THE  ANTI-REVIVALIST. 


231 


in  all  my  travels  in  this  and  other  countries. 
There  is  more  money  needlessly  spent  every  day 
by  ungodly  men,  and  a  little  even  by  good  men, 
more  altogether  than  can  be  raised  by  the  whole 
Church  of  Christ  to  evangelize  the  world;  yet 
not  a  word  is  said  about  the  money  that  is  thus 
needlessly  and  foolishly  squandered.  No,  no ! 
the  god  of  this  world  keeps  all  quiet  on  that 
head.  But  a  revival  takes  place,  and  a  little  of 
the  money  is  devoted  to  the  cause  of  Christ 
which  used  to  be  spent  in  folly,  and  then  comes 
the  cry,  What  a  loss  of  money! 

What  a  waste  of  time!  Half  the  night  is  ^ 
spent  by  multitudes  at  the  card-table,  in  the 
ball-room,  at  the  theatre,  in  the  drinking  saloons, 
or  in  visiting  parties,  and  no  one  complains  of  it 
as  a  waste  of  time;  but  when  men  are  alarmed 
about  the  safety  of  their  souls,  and  begin  to 
read  their  Bibles,  and  go  to  the  daily  prayer- 
meetings,  week-day  preaching,  and  to  other 
places  where  they  may  hear  of  Christ  and  get 
good  to  their  souls,  then  it  is  said.  See  how  idle 
these  people  are !  Mark  how  much  time  they 
spend  about  religion ! 

What  distress  to  parents !  A  father  once 
said,  when  some  of  his  children  became  pious, 
"  This  will  bring  down  my  grey  hairs  with  sor- 


232 


THE  ANTI-REVIVALIST. 


row  to  tlie  grave."  But  he  has  lived  long  enough 
to  see  his  mistake.  I  have  seen  his  grey  hairs; 
and  as  they  hung  upon  his  shoulders,  and  his 
eyes  streaming  with  tears,  he  exclaimed,  "  Now 
we  are  a  whole  family  going  to  heaven!"  It 
cannot  be  denied,  that  a  revival  produces  great 
changes  in  families.  Some  young  converts  will 
be  compelled,  from  principle,  to  forsake  sinful 
yet  lucrative  pursuits;  while  some  will  leave 
their  homes,  and  their  country,  and  go  as  mis- 
sionaries of  the  cross  to  distant  lands;  and  we 
would  not  give  a  fig  for  that  revival  which  did 
not  produce  such  changes. 

That  a  young  convert  should  wish  to  become 
a  herald  of  mercy  is  not  at  all  wonderful — it 
would  be  a  wonder  if  he  were  not  to  wish  it. 
And  though  such  separations  must  cause  a 
struggle  in  the  breasts  of  tender  parents,  yet, 
if  parents  felt  as  they  ought  on  this  subject, 
their  sorrows  would  soon  be  exchanged  for  joy. 

If  our  worthy  President  were  to  send  to  any 
town  in  these  United  States,  saying  that  he  was 
about  to  appoint  a  minister  to  some  foreign 
country,  and  he  wished  to  confer  that  honour  on 
one  of  the  youths  of  that  town — the  finest  and 
the  best — ah!  we  should  see  mothers  of  every 
grade,  in  love  pressing  onward  with  their  sons, 


THE  ANTI-REYIVALIST.  233 


and  some  of  them  praying,  for  the  first  time, 
"0,  that  my  son  may  be  the  favoured  youth!'' 
But  when  Christ  the  Lord  of  all  sends  a  mes- 
sage, ''Who  will  go  for  us?"  it  is  a  rare  thing 
to  hear  a  parent  say,  "  0  Lord,  I  will  give  thee 
my  son/' 

What  annoyance  it  will  create  in  the  com- 
munity !  Annoyance ! — to  be  sure.  A  man  who 
is  born  again  in  a  revival,  will  almost  of  neces- 
sity be  a  revivalist.  He  cannot  go  to  heaven 
without  company;  and  if  he  has  no  companions, 
he  will  make  them.  He  cannot  look  with  com- 
posure on  the  perishing  multitudes  around  him. 
He  sets  to  work  in  earnest;  he  calls  aloud  to 
one,  and  whispers  to  another.  He  is  now  in  a 
new  world;  and  he  invites,  and  warns,  and 
encourages  others  to  look  unto  the  Lamb  of 
God,  who  has  taken  away  his  sins,  and  has  made 
him  happy.  This  man  will  be  a  troubler  in 
Israel.  I  cannot  conceive  of  anything  more 
annoying  than  this,  to  those  who  are  at  ease  in 
Zion,  and  also  to  those  who  are  asleep  in  carnal 
security.  These  are  some  of  the  consequences 
anticipated  from  a  revival  of  religion.  Reader, 
how  are  you  affected  by  the  present  awakening 
in  our  cities,  and  throughout  the  land  ? 


234      WHAT  HAVE  I  DONE  FOR  CHRIST? 


WHAT  HAVE  I  DONE  FOR  CHRIST? 

When  we  think  of  what  the  Son  of  God  has 
done  and  suffered  for  our  redemption,  well  may 
each  one  ask,  "What  have  I  done  for  Christ?" 
It  is  very  little  indeed,  that  we  can  do  for  our 
exalted  Redeemer,  enthroned  as  he  is  above  all 
principalities  and  powers,  and  surrounded  by 
myriads  of  angels,  who  delight  to  do  his  plea- 
sure ;  but  are  we  anxious  to  ascertain  and  per- 
form that  little.  W^hen  we  have  received  kind- 
ness at  the  hand  of  a  fellow-mortal,  we  are 
anxious  to  make  some  return;  and  if  we  cannot 
pay  his  beneficence  to  the  extent  we  could 
desire,  it  is  some  comfort  to  us  to  be  able  to  do 
it  in  any  degree.  Do  we  habitually  feel  in  this 
manner  towards  the  Lord  that  bought  us,  that 
redeemed  us  from  eternal  perdition  by  his  pre- 
cious blood. 

What  have  I  done  to  advance  Christ's  king- 
dom in  the  world  ?  Have  I  done  all  I  could  to 
accomplish  this  end?  Have  I  been  instant  in 
season  and  out  of  season  with  my  unbelieving 
friends,  pressing  upon  them  the  absolute  necessity 
of  a  personal  interest  in  the  atoning  blood  of 
Jesus?    Has  my  conduct  been  such  that  others 


WHAT  HAVE  I  DONE  FOR  CHRIST?  235 


took  knowledge  of  me,  that  I  had  been  with 
Jesus  and  learned  of  him?  Have  I  devoted  my 
substance,  my  time,  my  influence,  my  life,  and 
my  all  to  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  good  of 
men?  What,  in  spiritual  things,  have  I  done 
for  Christ?  Less,  infinitely  less,  than  with  my 
opportunities  I  might  have  done.  0  that  I 
may  be  able  to  do  more  in  the  years  which  may 
yet  be  before  me.  0  that  I  may  be  at  once 
more  active  in  my  Saviour's  cause,  and  more 
humble  at  his  feet. 

Again,  What  have  I  done  in  temporal  things 
for  the  members  of  Christ's  body?  Have  I  done 
good  to  all  as  I  had  opportunity,  especially  to 
them  that  were  of  the  household  of  faith?  Have 
I  been  eyes  to  the  blind,  feet  to  the  lame,  and 
father  to  the  poor,  like  the  venerable  Job,  who 
only  saw  the  day  of  Christ  afar  ofiF?  Can  I  say 
with  him,  that  the  blessing  of  him  who  was 
ready  to  perish  came  upon  me,  and  I  caused  the 
widow's  heart  to  sing  for  joy?  Might  I  not 
rather  say  with  the  brethren  of  Joseph,  "I  am 
verily  guilty  concerning  my  brother,  in  that  I 
saw  the  anguish  of  his  soul  when  he  besought  me, 
and  I  would  not  hear."  Grant  me,  0  Lord,  the 
spirit  of  active  benevolence  and  charity,  and 
make  me  more  willing  than  ever  to  spend  and 
be  spent  in  thy  service.    Since  I  know  not  how 


236       WHAT  HAVE  I  DONE  FOR  CHRIST? 

short  my  time  on  earth  may  be,  may  I  never 
allow  a  day  to  pass  without  an  effort  to  advance 
thy  cause,  and  to  benefit  my  brethren  of  the 
human  race. 

Once  more,  What  have  I  endured  for  Christ  ? 
Am  I  one  of  those  fair  weather  disciples  who 
rejoice  to  follow  Christ  through  good  report 
only,  but  shrink  from  bearing  shame  and  re- 
proach for  him?  In  a  word,  have  I  shown 
myself  disposed  cheerfully  to  endure  hardness 
as  a  good  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ?  Alas!  I  fear 
that  in  this  also  I  have  come  short,  and  loved 
the  praise  of  men  more  than  the  praise  of  God. 
With  what  humility  and  self-abasement,  then, 
ought  I  to  look  back  upon  my  past  life,  in  which 
I  have  proved  such  an  unprofitable  servant;  and 
with  what  earnestness  ought  I,  at  the  commence- 
ment of  another  year,  to  approach  the  throne  of 
grace,  and  implore  that  assistance  and  those 
gifts  which  shall  enable  me,  in  time  to  come,  to 
walk  more  worthy  of  the  vocation  wherewith  I 
am  called.  Accept  anew,  0  my  God  and  Sa- 
viour, the  complete  surrender  of  my  heart  and 
will.  Let  me  cleave  more  closely  than  ever  to 
thee ;  and  in  all  I  think,  and  say,  and  do,  have 
a  single  eye  to  thy  glory.  May  I  often  ask 
myself,  What  have  I  done  for  Christ?  and  con- 
scious of  my  utter  inability  to  do  anything 


BLESSING  WANTED  BY  THE  CHURCHES.  237 

without  Divine  aid,  may  I  live  and  move  as 
the  daily  recipient  of  a  thousand  mercies,  and 
earnestly  pray  for  thy  Spirit  to  guide  into 
all  truth. 


THE  BLESSING  WANTED  BY  THE 
CHURCHES. 

UNTIL    THE    SPIRIT   BE    POURED    UPON   US    FROM    ON  HIGH. 

Isaiah  xxxii.  15. 

And  most  sure  it  is,  that  until  such  shall  be  the 
case,  our  souls  will  present  a  scene  of  spiritual 
sterility,  desolation,  and  death.  Fallen  humanity 
is  as  the  rock  and  the  desert,  "until  the  Spirit 
is  poured  from  on  high.''  Were  this  precious 
truth  felt  more  deeply  by  all  the  churches,  0 
what  a  cry  would  it  send  up  to  Heaven  for  the 
descent  of  the  Holy  Spirit!  Nothing  is  more 
wanted,  at  the  present  moment,  among  profess- 
ing Christians,  than  a  thrilling  and  all-subduing 
sense  of  the  necessity  of  the  Holy  Spirit's 
descent  on  ministers  and  on  Christian  churches. 
When  such  a  conviction  shall  come,  like  a  genial 
and  refreshing  gale,  upon  all  the  dwelling-places 
of  Mount  Zion,  "the  wilderness  will  be  a  fruitful 
field,  and  the  fruitful  field  will  be  counted  for  a 
21 


238 


THE  BLESSING  WANTED 


forest.  Then  will  judgment  dwejl  in  the  wilder- 
ness, and  righteousness  remain  in  the  fruitful 
field.  And  the  work  of  righteousness  shall  be 
peace;  and  the  effect  of  righteousness  quietness 
and  assurance  for  ever." 

It  is  proposedj  then,  to  state  and  illustrate 
the  two  following  propositions:  That  spiritual 
prosperity  can  only  result  from  the  copious 
descent  of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  and  that  the  advent 
of  the  Spirit  is  regulated  by  laws  which  place 
the  blessing  within  our  reach. 

Would  that  gospel  hearers  could  all  be  pene- 
trated with  the  consciousness  of  their  need  of  a 
more  abundant  effusion  of  the  Holy  Spirit! 
What  longings  after  God,  what  breathings  for 
new  life,  what  a  humbling  sense  of  former  cold- 
ness, and  infirmity,  and  backsliding  would  it 
create ! 

All  the  powers,  and  enjoyments,  and  opera- 
tions of  the  spiritual  life,  must  actually  come  to 
a  pause,  if  our  felt  dependence  upon  God's 
Spirit  is  suffered  to  decline.  Have  we  not  great 
need  to  cry  with  the  prophet,  as  he  gazed  on 
the  valley  of  vision,  "Come  from  the  four  winds, 
0  breath,  and  breathe  upon  these  slain,  that 
they  may  live!"  There  can  be  no  life  in  the 
Church,  but  as  it  proceeds  from,  and  is  nourished 
by,  the  quickening  Spirit  of  our  risen  and  exalted 


BY  THE  CHURCHES. 


239 


Lord.  To  press  this  great  and  solemn  truth 
home  upon  the  hearts  of  our  readers  will  be 
the  object  of  the  following  remarks,  while  we 
invite  their  prayerful  attention  to  the  following 
thoughts : 

I.  Spiritual  prosperity  can  only  result  from 
the  copious  descent  of  the  Holy  Grhost. 

"  Until  the  Spirit  be  poured  upon  us  from  on 
high,"  there  will  be  no  decisive  tokens  of  invigo- 
rated Christian  life.  All  will  be  dreary  waste, 
and  absolute  sterility  and  death,  while  apostate 
humanity  remains  without  the  visitation  of  a 
Divine  and  all-transforming  power. 

1.  Until  the  Spirit  be  poured  upon  us  from 
on  high,  there  can  be  no  adequate  and  realizing 
impression  of  His  character  and  work,  as  the 
great  Agent  of  all  spiritual  life  and  holiness  in 
our  world. 

Men  in  their  natural  state  of  spiritual  dark- 
ness and  insensibility,  live,  and  feel,  and  act,  as 
if  there  were  no  Holy  Ghost.  They  pursue 
their  course  on  the  principle  that  they  are  suffi- 
cient to  their  own  guidance  and  happiness,  and 
have  no  affecting  sense  of  their  need  of  a  Divine 
and  gracious  power  to  raise  them  from  that 
death  in  sin  in  which  they  lie.  Though  the 
Holy  Spirit  is  an  omniscient  Agent,  ''searching 
all  things,  yea,  the  deep  things  of  God" — 


240 


THE  BLESSING  WANTED 


though  he  is  Almighty,  and  the  author  of  the 
inspiration  of  all  the  prophets  and  apostles — of 
all  the  miracles  of  which  we  read  in  the  Old  and 
New  Testament  Scriptures,  and  of  all  the  con- 
versions that  have  ever  taken  place  since  the 
fall  of  man,  yet  the  "  na^wraZ  man,"  that  is,  the 
unrenewed  man,  has  no  proper  sense  of  his 
existence  and  agency  in  the  Church;  he  is  as 
indifferent  to  the  great  facts  of  his  personality^ 
Divinity^  and  saving  operations^  upon  the  minds 
of  men,  as  if  they  were  not  a  reality ;  he  never 
feels  his  need  of  His  quickening  power,  to  raise 
him  from  his  death  in  sin;  and  if  at  times  he 
thinks  of  the  Father  of  all,  and  of  Jesus  the 
Saviour  of  the  world,  he  is  never  impressed  with 
the  thought  that  he  needs  or  can  receive  any- 
thing from  the  Holy  Ghost.  This,  it  is  to  be 
feared,  is  very  much  the  condition  of  all  the 
unconverted.  If  in  the  theory  of  religion  they 
have  been  taught,  there  is  found  the  doctrine 
concerning  the  Divine  Spirit,  the  Third  Person 
in  the  adorable  Trinity,  yet  in  their  inmost 
thoughts,  in  the  constant  workings  of  their  in- 
telligent and  accountable  minds,  there  is  no 
actual  dependence  upon  the  Spirit,  no  fervent 
desire  rising  to  Him  for  his  blessed  influence — 
no  abiding,  operative  sense  of  his  all-pervading, 
necessary,  and  Divine  agency.    What  a  lament- 


BY  THE  CHURCHES. 


241 


able  and  exposed  state  is  this  for  any  sinful 
being  to  live  in  from  day  to  day !  Yet  is  it  not 
the  state  of  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands 
who  sit  under  the  sound  of  the  gospel?  The 
oulj  power  by  which  their  state  can  be  changed, 
even  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  they  feel 
not  to  need,  and  never  ask  in  humble  and 
earnest  prayer  his  renewing  and  sanctifying 
grace.  0  that  all  who  are  careless  and  uncon- 
cerned in  reference  to  the  Holy  Spirit,  could  be 
brought  to  feel,'  that,  in  their  present  state  of 
mind,  they  are  riveting  upon  themselves  the 
chain  of  depravity  and  unbelief,  just  because 
they  are  without  any  active  and  fervent  desire 
for  the  descent  and  quickening  energy  of  the 
Holy  Spirit. 

2.  Until  the  Spirit  be  poured  upon  us  from 
on  high,  there  will  be  but  few  Pentecostal 
movements  in  connection  with  the  preaching  of 
the  word. 

The  very  tendency  to  look  for  such  move- 
ments comes  from  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  vast 
majority  of  gospel  hearers  are  not  looking  for 
another  Pentecost.  They  are  contented,  or  at 
least  not  uneasy,  in  their  present  depressed 
state,  in  so  far  as  it  respects  the  limited  num- 
ber of  conversions,  as  compared  with  the  masses 
21* 


242 


THE  BLESSING  WANTED 


who  attend  on  the  preaching  of  the  word.  We 
should  be,  in  the  present  low  state  of  the 
Church,  astonished  and  overwhelmed  if  we  were 
to  hear  of  hundreds  drawn  to  Christ  by  a 
single  sermon.  But  such  soul-animating  sights 
cannot  be  seen  but  as  the  result  of  a  mighty 
and  merciful  effusion  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  It 
is  not  a  few  precious  drops  from  the  fructi- 
fying cloud  that  can  refresh  and  fertilize  the 
barren  and  parched  soil;  but  it  is  the  warm 
and  copious  shower  descending  with  a  plentiful 
fulness  that  creates  beauty,  and  verdure,  and 
fruitfulness.  And  so  it  is  under  the  minstry  of 
the  word.  A  few  precious  drops  of  Divine  influ- 
ence will  not  relieve  the  barren  wastes  of  mind, 
and  create  a  Pentecostal  awakening  among  the 
hearers  of  the  gospel.  We  want  showers  of 
blessing," — we  want  the  Holy  Spirit  to  be 
"poured  on  ministers  and  people,  in  order  to  the 
realization  of  a  great  conversion-work.  It  is  a 
mercy  to  see  a  few  turning  to  God — to  hear 
from  one  and  another  the  importunate  cry,  "  Sirs, 
what  must  w^e  do  to  be  saved  ?"  But  why  should 
so  many  remain  unmoved  beneath  the  sound  of 
the  word?  Why  should  so  many  perish  at 
mercy's  threshhold,  while  so  few  look  to  Christ 
and  are  saved?  Have  you,  dear  reader,  pon- 
dered well  the  grand  reason  ?    Have  you  been 


BY  THE  CIIUECHES. 


243 


impressed  with  the  fact,  that  there  is  no  shower, 
RO  mighty  outpouring  of  Divine  influence  upon 
the  ministry  of  the  word.  There  may  be  evi- 
dence of  the  descent  of  the  gentle  dew — there 
may  be,  here  and  there,  a  few  drops  falling  on 
the  bleak  and  barren  earth;  but  where  can  you 
see,  in  any  of  our  religious  circles,  even  the 
signs  of  a  coming  shower  of  heavenly  blessings, 
and  where  can  it  be  said  that  ''the  Spirit  is 
largely  poured  out  from  on  high?"  Nor  will 
the  consummation,  so  devoutly  to  be  wished,  be 
realized  under  the  preaching  of  the  word,  until 
''times  of  refreshing  shall  come  from  the  pre- 
sence of  the  Lord."  0  that  we  could  see  this 
state  of  things  reversed,  and  find  that  every 
Sabbath  was  a  Pentecost,  and  every  sermon  was 
the  message  of  life  and  salvation  to  penetrated 
multitudes  !  What  glorious  work  would  preach- 
ing then  be!  What  scenes  of  rejoicing  and  tri- 
umph would  be  the  assemblies  of  Zion !  As  in 
Jerusalem  of  old,  great  fear  would  come  upon 
all  who  beheld  the  wondrous  change,  and  there 
would  be  "  added  to  the  church  daily  such  as 
should  be  saved;"  while  there  would  be  joy 
among  the  angels  of  God,  not  over  one  return- 
ing prodigal,  but  over  multitudes  translated  out 
of  darkness  into  marvellous  light. 


244 


THE  BLESSING  WANTED 


0  blessed  power !  0  glorious  day ! 

What  a  large  victory  shall  ensue! 
And  converts,  who  thy  grace  obey, 

Exceed  the  drops  of  morning  dew. 

3.  Until  the  Spirit  be  poured  from  on  high, 
the  Christian  Church  will  remain  in  a  compara- 
tively languishing  and  unprosperous  state. 

It  is  a  solemn  but  indubitable  fact,  that  as 
the  Church  is,  so  must  the  world  be.  If  its 
spiritual  temperature  is  low,  the  impression  on 
the  world  will  be  faint,  and  feeble,  and  almost 
imperceptible.  If  it  is  powerfully  acted  upon 
by  a  remarkable  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
then  will  it  be  in  a  position  to  tell  with  resistless 
force  and  energy  upon  those  who  are  without. 
A  common-place  profession  of  the  gospel,  free 
from  outward  blame,  and  orderly  in  the  observ- 
ance of  religious  duties,  but  devoid  of  deep-toned 
spirituality,  active  love,  and  burning  zeal  for 
the  honour  of  Christ,  will  never  awe  the  world, 
or  cause  the  thoughtless,  the  unconcerned,  and 
the  profane,  to  pause  in  their  career  of  folly  and 
impenitence.  On  the  disciples  of  Christ,  those 
who  are  pledged  for  the  maintenance  of  his 
honour  in  the  world,  must  fall  a  more  plenteous 
effusion  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  if  showers  of  blessing 
are  to  descend  upon  the  out-field  of  the  world 
lying  in  the  wicked  one. 


BY  THE  CHURCHES, 


245 


Then,  when  the  Church  is  converted,  she  will 
not  only  be  prepared  to  strengthen  her  brethren, 
but  she  will  be  equipped  for  the  great  work 
which  has  been  assigned  to  her  instrumentality, 
viz.  the  conversion  of  the  world. 

Then  will  she  have  power  with  God,  and  will 
prevail.  Her  life,  infused  by  the  Church's  glo- 
rious Head,  will  vitalize  all  around  her,  and 
within  the  circle  of  her  influence.  She  will  look 
forth  upon  the  world,  "fair  as  the  moon,  clear 
as  the  sun,  and  terrible  as  an  army  with  ban- 
ners." Her  living,  active  power  will  be  felt 
upon  the  inert  masses  of  depravity  and  worldli- 
ness.  Her  benevolence  will  fall  upon  the  self- 
ishness of  mankind  at  large  like  the  drops  of 
morning  dew.  Her  zeal  will  be  exerted  on 
behalf  of  the  various  objects  of  social,  moral, 
and  spiritual  misery  and  wretchedness.  She 
will  be  in  positive  and  palpable  sympathy  with 
Christ  himself — living  for  him,  acting  for  him, 
and  identifying  all  her  interests  and  all  her  hap- 
piness with  the  advancement  of  his  honour,  and 
the  glory  of  his  kingdom. 

But  when,  0  when,  is  the  Church  to  reflect 
the  bright  image  of  her  Lord  ?  When  is  she  to 
spring  up  in  her  apostolic  vigour  and  purity? 
When  is  she  to  show  herself  dead  to  the  world, 
and  alive  to  Christ?    When  is  she  to  appear 


246  THE  BLESSING  WANTED 

the  virtuous  and  uncontaminated  spouse  of  her 
rightful  Lord?  When  is  she  to  prove  herself 
the  embodiment  of  her  own  principles?  When 
is  she  to  be  purged  from  her  petty  strifes  and 
bickerings,  and  to  walk  forth  in  her  might  and 
majesty,  as  the  great  philanthropist  of  human 
kind?  AVhen  is  she  to  become  the  fitting  repre- 
sentative of  her  absent  Lord,  the  guardian  of 
his  honour,  and  the  herald  of  his  coming  king- 
dom and  glory  upon  earth?  Ah!  when,  dear 
friends?  Only  when  "the  Spirit  is  poured  upon 
us  from  on  high/'  Till  then,  the  mass  of  pro- 
fessors will  "seek  their  own  things,  not  the 
things  which  are  Jesus  Christ's;"  and  in  this 
depressed  and  enfeebled  state  must  she  remain 
until  she  goes  forth  out  of  herself,  and  seeks  to 
draw  in  fresh  life  from  Him  who  has  said,  "  The 
water  that  I  shall  give  you,  shall  be  in  you  a 
well  of  water,  springing  up  into  everlasting 
life." 

This  leads  to  the  second  deeply  interesting 
portion  of  our  theme. 

II.  That  the  Advent  of  the  Spirit  is  regu- 
lated hy  laws  which  place  the  blessing  within 
our  reach. 

1.  The  Spirit  will  be  poured  from  on  high,  in 
answer  to  prayer. 

A  prostrate  Church,  crying  for  the  advent  of 


BY  THE  CHURCHES. 


247 


the  Spirit,  and  panting  for  a  new  baptism  of 
power  from  on  high,  would  not  struggle,  and 
plead,  and  agonize  in  vain.  God  would  then 
arise  and  have  mercy  on  Zion; — the  time,  yea, 
the  set  time,  to  favour  her,"  would  then  have 
arrived.  The  blessings  of  Messiah's  reign  would 
then  "come  down  like  rain  upon  the  mown 
grass,  and  as  showers  that  water  the  earth.'' 
God  would  then  be  entreated  of  in  reference  to 
those  great  promises:  "I  will  pour  my  Spirit 
upon  all  flesh;''  "So  shall  he  sprinkle  many 
nations;"  "When  He,  the  Spirit  of  truth,  is 
come,  he  shall  convince  the  world  of  sin,  of 
righteousness,  and  judgment."  Yes,  prayer, 
the  prayer  of  faith,  the  prayer  that  never  ceases, 
the  prayer  which  rises  around  the  throne  like 
the  voice  of  many  waters,  shall  bring  down 
streams  of  divine  influence  to  refresh  God's 
parched  heritage,  and  to  bless  and  fructify  a 
barren  and  desolate  world. 

Yes,  and  to  this  law  of  prayer  every  child  of 
x\dam  is  encouraged  to  look  with  hope,  as  it 
respects  the  descent  of  more  copious  supplies 
of  Divine  grace.  Its  provisions  come  within  the 
reach  of  every  anxious  soul  longing  for  the 
baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Hear  the  voice  of 
Jesus  himself:  "If  ye  then,  being  evil,  know 
how  to  give  good  gifts  unto  your  children,  how 


248  THE  BLESSING  WANTED 


much  more  shall  your  Heavenly  Father  give 
the  Holy  Spirit  unto  them  that  ask  him.''  We 
have  but  to  ask,  and  we  shall  receive;  we  have 
but  to  seek,  and  we  shall  find ;  we  have  but  to 
knock,  and  the  door  shall  be  opened  unto  us. 
But  God  will  be  inquired  of,  if  the  Spirit  is  to 
be  poured  from  on  high.  He  will  not  squander 
his  gifts  upon  an  unexpectant  Christian,  or  an 
unexpectant  Church.  If  we  would  see  God 
reviving  his  own  work  in  the  midst  of  the  years, 
we  must  fall  in  with  his  own  revealed  plan,  and 
prove  by  the  fervour,  and  urgency,  and  confi- 
dence of  our  prayers,  that  we  are  longing  for, 
and  ready  to  welcome  the  copious  and  refreshing 
descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

2.  The  Spirit  will  be  poured  from  on  high, 
when  the  church  is  in  a  better  frame  for  his 
advent. 

She  must  prepare  herself  as  a  bride  prepareth 
herself  for  her  Bridegroom.  Christ  will  come 
in  power  and  great  glory  to  his  Church,  when 
she  is  in  a  posture  of  readiness  for  so  august  a 
visitor.  The  Holy  Spirit  is  looking  to  the 
Church  for  a  responsive  echo  of  his  own  teach- 
ing and  influence  in  the  minds  of  men.  He 
will  not  with  impunity  be  grieved — he  will  not 
be  quenched,  by  our  apathy,  our  cold  hearted- 
ness,  our  undue  love  of  present  things,  our 


BY  THE  CHURCHES. 


249 


unloving  tempers,  our  grievous  backslidings,  our 
strifes  and  divisions,  our  little  petty  animosities, 
our  sad  and  mournful  falls.  He  expects  us  to 
be  responsive  to  his  suggestions,  to  be  obedient 
to  his  impulses,  to  be  temples  for  his  reception, 
dedicated  to  his  praise.  Let  us  ponder  these 
thoughts,  and  lay  them  to  heart,  and  then  may 
we  expect,  individually  and  collectively,  that  the 
Spirit  will  be  poured  from  on  high  upon  us. 

3.  The  Spirit  will  be  poured  from  on  high 
when  the  testimony  of  his  truth  is  yielded  to 
with  grateful  and  unresisting  submission. 

The  Holy  Spirit  speaks  in  the  word.  It  is 
his  whole  testimony  concerning  all  things  in 
which  perishing  sinners  are  most  vitally  con- 
cerned. He  expects  that  we  will  hear  his  voice 
in  the  written  word,  and  not  ''harden  our  hearts, 
as  in  the  provocation,  as  in  the  day  of  tempta- 
tion in  the  wilderness.''  When  the  Bible  has  its 
place  in  our  thoughts,  and  convictions,  and  feel- 
ings, and  purposes,  and  plans,  and  when  the 
Church  shall  thus  honour  the  Bible  as  the  testi- 
mony of  the  Spirit— then  will  the  Spirit  be 
poured  upon  us  from  on  high;  and  all  Zion's 
waste  places  will  be  refreshed  and  fertilized  by 
the  presence  and  glory  of  the  Lord. 

0,  then,  dear  readers,  if  you  would  realize 
the  blessing  promised,  if  you  would  live  to  see 
22 


250    BLESSING  WANTED  BY  THE  CHURCHES. 

the  Spirit  poured  out  from  on  high,  and  the  wil- 
derness changed  into  a  fruitful  field,  reverence, 
examine,  believe,  prize,  ponder,  pray  over  your 
Bibles.  There  only  can  you  find  the  lessons  of 
the  Spirit ;  and  while  you  are  struggling  on  the 
bended  knee  of  prayer  to  become  acquainted 
with  them,  you  may  expect,  you  may  hope,  you 
may  even  be  confident  that  the  Spirit  will  be 
poured  from  on  high,  and  that  your  souls  will 
become  as  a  garden  which  the  Lord  himself  hath 
watered. 


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Explanatory  Commentary.  By  Rev.  David  Brown,  D.  D., 
Professor  of  Divinity  in  the  Free  Church  College,  Aber- 
deen, Scotland.  12mo. 

NOTICES  OF  THE  PRESS. 

Dr.  Brown,  within  a  small  space,  gives  the  substance  of 
the  freshest  and  best  criticism,  and  enables  the  reader  to 
profit  by  the  labours  of  Alford,  Stier,  Olshausen,  and  others, 
without  introducing  any  of  those  doubtful  or  dangerous 
views  which  are  sometimes  mixed  up  with  the  great  learning 
and  general  soundness  of  these  authors.  Dr.  Brown  has 
added  much  of  his  own,  which  is  in  the  highest  degree  valu- 
able ;  and  has  infused  into  the  whole  a  thoroughly  evangeli- 
cal spirit  and  practical  tendency,  which  are  fitted  to  impress 
the  reader  in  a  way  that  such  comments  often  fail  in  doing. 
Il  is  truly  wonderful  that  so  much  most  admirahle  matter  could 
he  compressed  within  such  limits,  and  offered  at  a  price  which 
puts  it  in  the  power  of  the  poorest  to  obtain  the  work.  We  can 
and  do  earnestly  recommend  this  Commentary  to  the  atten- 
tion of  all  classes,  and  especially  of  Sabbath-school  Teachers 
and  others  engaged  in  communicating  religious  instruction. 

— Aberdeen  Journal. 

Perhaps  the  most  suggestive  Commentary  in  the  English 
language. — British  Messenger. 

The  acute  analytical  mind  of  the  author  has  enabled  him 
to  unfold  Scripture  knowledge  with  remarkable  precision 
and  brevity.  Every  sentence,  every  clause,  is  instinct  with 
thought,  showing  a  thorough  mastery  of  language,  and 
luminous  views,  which  give  perspicuity  to  what  is  obscure. 
In  short,  we  regard  this  performance  as  exhibiting,  in  happy 
combination,  high  devotional  feeling,  rich  learning,  con- 
densed fulness,  and  variety  of  thought,  fitted  to  improve  the 
minister  and  Sabbath-school  teacher,  and  yet  as  being  of  so 
popular  a  cast  as  to  suit  the  private  Christian  and  Sabbath- 
school  scholar. — Scottish  Guardian. 

Published  by 

WILLIAM  S.  &  ALFRED  MAETIEN, 
No.  606  Chestnut  Street,  Philadelphia. 


A   SUPERIOR  WORK. 


A'  CONSIDERATION 

OP  THE 

SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT. 

By  major  D.  H.  HILL, 
Professor  of  Mathematics  in  Davidson  College,  N.  Carolina. 
12mo.    Price  75  cents. 

NOTICES  OF  THE  PRESS. 

These  expositions  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  without 
displaying  the  learned  research  of  Tholuck's  work  on  the 
same  theme,  exhibit  greater  analytic  power,  and  a  far  more 
satisfactory  explanation  of  the  spiritual  teachings  of  this 
most  interesting  portion  of  Scripture.  The  reader  will  be 
charmed  by  the  perspicuous  style  of  the  author,  the  number- 
less scientific  and  historical  illustrations  by  which  he  has 
elucidated  the  text,  and  the  clear  and  logical  discussions  of 
his  propositions.  Nor  is  the  least  merit  of  this  excellent  work 
its  eminently  practical  character. — Central  Freshyterian. 

The  author's  analysis  of  the  various  topics  that  arise  is 
iucid  and  vigorous;  his  discussions  of  experimental,  casuis- 
tical points  are  able  and  terse;  his  enforcement  and  appli- 
cation of  truth  is  searching  and  pungent.  We  have  seen  feio 
recent  books  of  this  class  containing  more  than  this,  that  is 

profitable  for  doctrine,  for  reproof,  for  correction,  for  in- 
struction in  righteousness." — Princeton  Review. 

It  is  remarkable  as  the  work  of  a  layman,  and  also  for 
simplicity,  freshness,  originality,  critical  acumen,  practical 
usefulness,  and  sacred  unction.  In  some  respects,  it  meets 
the  best  requisites  of  a  commentary,  and  oh  the  whole  may 
be  safely  recommended  to  all  classes  of  readers  as  a  valua- 
ble addition  to  our  Biblical  helps. — Ch.  Intelligencer, 

A  vigorous,  practical  commentary,  in  which  the  reasoning 
of  our  Lord  is  expanded  and  applied,  and  illustrative  facts 
are  brought  from  individual  and  national  history.  As  such 
we  commend  it  to  families  and  individual  Christians. — 
Congregational  Herald. 

Published  by 

WILLIAM  S.  &  ALFRED  MARTIEN, 
No.  606  Chestnut  Street,  Philadelphia. 


